Naruto's Training Done Wright
by FallenDispair
Summary: What if Naruto learned the secret of the shadow clone jutsu during his training trip with Jiraiya, leading to him meeting his father early.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDispair

**I do not own or profit from Naruto.**

**Updated 9/6/19 I plan on editing all my chapters before continuing the story. Sorry for being so late, I'll just say I was having personal issues.**

Chapter: 1

Walking down a dirt road leading out of the village hidden in the leaves, or Konohagakure, surrounded by the massive trees that help hide one of the five great hidden villages, we find our hero Naruto Uzumaki. He is a spiky blonde haired boy with three whisker marks on each cheek, bronze tanned skin, cerulean eyes, and is wearing an orange jumpsuit with a white collar, navy blue going along the shoulders and upperback, a red swirl circle in between his shoulder blades, a kunai holster on his right thigh, a beige weapons pouch on his right butt cheek, a forehead protector with a leaf symbol, which denotes his affiliation with Konohagakure, and black shinobi sandals.

He's walking slightly behind his sensei, one of the three legendary sannin Jiraiya, starting on his two and half year training trip. Jiraiya is a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He has a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There are red lines under his eyes which extends futher down his face all the way to the bottom. His attire consists of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wears mesh armor that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wears hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He's carrying a large scroll on his back, and has a tattoo on his left palm, and wears a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil", which denotes his affiliation with Mount Myoboku.

This normally hyperactive thirteen year old shinobi is lost in thought, wondering how he'll get strong enough to bring back his friend Sasuke for the girl he loves, Sakura, all in the premise of keeping his promise of a lifetime to her. Sure he has his own reasons for wanting to save Sasuke from becoming Orochimaru's next vessal. After all, he is the closest thing to a brother he's ever had, and that's not a bond he wants to lose. But even after fighting him with everything he had and more, with the help of the nine tailed fox boosting his power exponentially, he still lost to Sasuke's superior powers and techniques. Not to say he wasn't as fast or strong as Sasuke, but he had more jutsu, superior skills with kunai and shuriken, and stronger taijutsu then he has.

So he figured that meant he'd be working on all of those areas of a shinobi's skills and was now getting excited to get started, so asked Jiraiya, "Hey pervy sage what awesome jutsu am I going to learn first?"

Jiraiya responds with a little irritation at being referred to as pervy sage, "You won't be learning any new jutsu yet. We need to focus on bringing up your basic skills first. Then, and only then, can I start on actually teaching you jutsu."

A despondent Naruto wines, "Oh come on, that's boring! I can't waste time on that weak crap. I need more jutsu and work on bettering my taijutsu!"

Jiraiya snaps back, "You can't learn any of those without a better base of skills to build off of!"

Naruto says, "What do you mean by that pervy sage? Why can't you just teach me super cool badass jutsu?"

Jiraiya, with a breath of frustration at Naruto's ignorance, answers, "Because without a strong enough base your body wouldn't be able to handle it. Think of trying to build a house on two-by-fours held between two boulders. They'd snap at the weight of the building being built on top of them."

Naruto responds with face and tone of understanding, and maybe a little fear, "O-ooh, so my body might break apart trying?" Then with confidence and strength says, "I can take any pain or hardships if means I can save Sasuke!"

Jiraiya with a rare moment of seriousness says, "It takes more than a strong will and nerves of steel to master the art of the shinobi. The damage the backlash of a powerful jutsu won't just hurt, it can and will kill you. Then you wont be saving anyone from your very painful and horrid end."

Naruto with an even rarer moment of understanding shakily says, "O-ok, but how long will that take, because I can't afford to spend all of my time just building up my basic skills while Sasuke gets stronger and stronger?"

Jiraiya answers, "Hopefully within one year, but that will depend entirely on you and how hard you work."

Naruto and Jiraiya, after having stopped walking, now facing each other, are quiet for a minute before Naruto with his classic fox like grin says, "Then I'll have it down in half that time, because I'll work till drop everyday! That way we'll have more time to learn some badass jutsus. Believe it!".

In response to this, Jiraiya's face slowy turns into a grin, then into full blown laughter, "Aahhhaahhaa, I should have known I couldn't keep you down for long. Maybe with that attitude you'll get the basics down in three months."

Naruto asks hopefully, "Do you really think so?"

Jiraiya responds, "Who knows, miracles do happen. Ha ha ha."

With a firm pout on his face, yet still with a hint of determination, Naruto yells back, "Just watch me pervy sage, I'll do it and wipe that stupid look off your face, believe it!"

Jiraiya's laughter lightens down to a small chuckle replies, "Well then, you got three months to do it and if you do I'll teach you whatever jutsu you want, but if you can't, then you'll train in whatever way I say without complaints, deal."

Naruto answers without hesitation, "Sure, it's a deal! I'll win too because I don't give up and I'll never go back on my word, believe it!"

Jiraiya offering his hand says, "It's a deal then." Naruto takes his hand and shakes it while responding, "Deal!"

As they separate and head on their way, Jiraiya believes he just pulled one over on Naruto, but fails to realize that Naruto's luck always finds away to bring him a win on any bet. Just ask his fat gamma-chan and Tsunade about it.

Two weeks later we find Naruto despondently eating a full course of the accursed green, his least favorite color, that goes by the name of vegetables. He's inside a local restaurant a few towns over from Konoha, having to eat them all because of his old perv of a sensei is making him. Ever since they made their bet pervy sage has been drilling the basics into him like a demon, or a perverted demon with an agenda to peek on the nearest women's bath house, so Jiraiya relentlessly beats Naruto into the ground everyday, so he can run off for his "research" as quickly as possible. That's not to say his training is ineffective or weak, on the contrary it's doing wonders to increasing Naruto's strength, from chakra control, repelling genjutsu, kunai and shuriken skills, to his taijutsu. The real problem lies in the fact that Jiraiya tricked him into agreeing to eat vegetables every time he fails to score a point on him in there spars. That old perv is as tough as they come. Not only has he failed to touch him even once, every hit Jiraiya makes tends to leave bruises down to his bones! Sure it's not as bad as getting hit by ba-chan, but still it hurts like hell. The vegies after are the worst kind of treatment after his training. He should have known that perv offering to teach him a jutsu early if can hit him in a spar was a setup, but come on how could he pass up a chance learn a jutsu, what an idoit he was now, stuck eating his least favorite color food.

On top of all of that, his progress to finishing his basic training wasn't even close to reaching the three month mark goal. At this rate he'll finish maybe in a year or two, damn it all to hell! So in a poor attempt to spy on the pervy sage to possibly learn something really cool, he sends a shadow clone to follow him after every training session, only to end in failure every single time. The bright side is it takes a little longer for pervy sage to lose his clone every time he goes off somewhere. How does Naruto know this? That's simple, when his clone loses the perv he comes back and reports to the original that's stuck eating vegetables. This time is different though, because mid bite of the accursed green, Naruto get a flash of memories from his clone following the perv and catching him neck deep in women, sake, and money! Damn it, he should have known that's all he'd find when looking for that old pervert! Wait a minute, how did he know all that? A look of pure confusion came across the blond's whiskered face. His face scrunched up lost in deep thought, wondering how he had the memories of his clone. Steam soon came off of his head leading to him to face plant on top of his food with swirls in his eyes. It seem too much thought in one moment lead to his mind over heating, go figure.

Later that evening, with the sun just starting to pass over the horizon, Naruto finds himself being carried by a mess of white hair, stinking of sake and shame, to their hotel. Apparently, Jiraiya noticed Naruto's clone bursting as it charged the old perv trying to hit him for wasting his time following him, who knew he could be so observant with a pair of breasts in his face. What Naruto didn't know, was that those brothels Jiraiya visited all the time was a large source of his extensive spy network. After all, who would think such a lecherous man in the middle of such debauchery would be gaining vital information. Then again, most men tend to be lose tongued around beautiful women, getting them drunk and lost in pleasure. Thus making them perfect eyes and ears for his spy network, plus the added benefit of getting to spend time with beautiful women all the time. Causing Jiraiya to leave his fun/work early to go find the little idiot, knowing he'd have questions over getting memories of his clone. He didn't expect to find a passed out Naruto at table with steam coming off his head and swirls for eyes. Sighing, the perv pays for the kid's food and lifts Naruto on to his back and heads back to their hotel room.

On their way to the hotel, Naruto starts screaming at the perv for what his clone saw, "What the hell pervy sage! While I'm stuck eating crap and finishing my training, your getting your perv on with a bunch of ladies!" Interrupting himself, "Wait a minute, how do I even know that?"

Jiraiya responds, "What you seriously didn't know about the memory transfer ability of the shadow clone jutsu? I mean that's what it was created for, to spy or infiltrate dangerous areas without have to risk your life. How could you not notice that aspect of shadow clone jutsu with how often you use it, idiot."

Naruto looking rather bashful says, "Well, nobody ever told me that, and I'm a little busy trying to kickass or not die to notice my clones memories in battle!"

Jiraiya responds with a sigh, "Kami kid, how have you made it this far as a shinobi being that dense?"

With anger and a blush on his face yells, "Hey! don't call me an idiot you old pervert of a sage! How have you not been killed by some random bimbo with how perverted you are?!"

Jiraiya raising his own voice and tossing Naruto off his back yells, "Because unlike you I am an experienced shinobi who can come off as an idiot, lecherous, fool while being aware of everything going around me! You're a hundred years too young to judge me brat!"

After recovering from being drop on his butt Naruto replies, "Yeah right you perv! Your just covering your butt for being caught red-handed in your perverted ways!"

Jiraiya responds, "Whatever gaki, it still doesn't take away from your own stupidity for not knowing how your own jutsu works, and take it from me, that has been the end of many a shinobi. So from now on your not to use any jutsu in the future with knowing everything it does, is that clear!" Seeing the serious face of Jiraiya Naruto just nodes his head yes.

Jiraiya continues, "Good, now that you know all about the shadow clone jutsu, lets had back to our room and get some sleep, for first thing in the morning we continue your training."

As Jiraiya turns to head to the hotel, Naruto asks, "Wait, can't I use clones to speed up my training?"

Jiraiya answers, "No, any physical training wont help with clones, because only mental information goes back to the creator."

Naruto replies, "Ok, but what about training that only takes getting a feel for something, like breaking genjutsu and chakra control?"

Jiraiya stops and puts his hand to his chin to think for a minute, then responds, "Yeah, maybe, I never really thought about it that way before. Usually I only use a clone for training when practicing dangerous and life threating jutsu. Maybe using clones will increase your experience with certain jutsu and practices, but things like increasing your speed, power, and stamina can't be helped other than being done by you directly. Hump, it's an original idea for sure, but then again you are know for doing things outside the box. Yeah I mean think of it! With two clones working on the same jutsu it'd cut the time to learn it in half! Three clones a third as long! Four clones a fourth and so on and so forth! In theory you could gain years of experience in a week!"

At this point Jiraiya has a huge grin on his face, witch only drops when Naruto says, "Yeah with the number of clones I can make I'll win that bet for sure! Ha-ha-ha!"

The horror of that truth send Jiraiya into a depression. 'Damn my load mouth! Now he's going to demand an endless number jutsus for me to teach him. I'm going to lose out on so much peeking- I -I mean research for my books!' Jiraiya thought with never ending horror written across his face, followed by a river of anime tears. All the while Naruto is practically skipping with joy to the hotel with a foxy grin on his face and his arms behind his head. He's daydreaming of all the jutsus he'll soon be learning from pervy sage.

A month and two weeks later, an exhausted Naruto lays spread out in open field breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. Yet he has a large smile plastered across his face because he just finished all the basic training needed for him to win his bet with pery sage, just in time too. The shadow clone method of training that he and Jiraiya came up with was lifesaver for sure. Without it he would have ended up spending most of his two and half years just working on increasing his basic abilities. Maybe with enough spar time learn one new jutsu, how lame would that be.

The only down side to this training showed it's self on the first day. After making a thousand clones and dividing them up to work on everything, from breaking genjutsu exercises, chakra control, kunai and shuriken practice, and going over his existing jutsu to perfect them, while he focused on body conditioning and sparing with pery sage. He even got the perv to make him leg weights like Lee's, but with seals to slowly increase the weight, starting at a more bearable weight, then working up to what Lee's were at during the chunin exams. After dispelling all of his clones that day he blacked out from the accumulated fatigue from the thousand clones. He woke-up midday two days later! Jiraiya tried to talk him out of using the clones, saying it was too dangerous and that they just barely dodged a kunai this time. Naruto refused, saying that he was only saying that to win the bet, plus when he showed pervy sage the results the training method produced after a single use almost convinced him.

Naurto's could now break mid-level genjustu, his chakra control is twice what it was, his aim with kunai and shuriken is vastly improved, and could now perform all of his jutsus in nearly half the time from before. So the pervy sage came to a compromise by having Naruto use only five hundred shadow clones a day until he could better handle the strain. Naruto would still pass out after dispelling the clones, but would wake up in a few hours instead of a few days, eventually, he got back up to a thousand clones. Thanks to this training method, he was able to win his bet with Jiraiya and now could learn any jutsu he wanted from the perv. After all, his chakra control was almost perfect, he could break most genjustu with the exception of master genjutsu users of course, his use of kunai and shuriken are perfect to the point that only someone like Tenten or someone with sharingan could do better, and now he can do the rasengan one handed without the help of a shadow clone. On top of all of that, his body conditioning made him twice as strong, gave him larger amounts of stamina, and his speed is at Lee's level without his weights. He has now increased his leg weights and will keep going for as long as he possibly can. Now he is able to land a few points on Jiraiya in their sparing sessions too. With all of those results, Jiraiya had no other choice but to admit that Naruto had won their bet.

With a little resonation and pride in his voice Jiraiya says, "Congratulations gaki you won the bet, even though it could be considered cheating using all of those clones to speed up your training, but then again, so can natural talent and the sharingan, so whatever." Secretly Jiraiya knew that only Naruto with his massive amounts of chakra and stamina could use this method without killing themselves, so it was very impressive all the same.

Naruto, slightly perturbed and smug, replies, "Yeah I know I'm awesome, and your just upset you lost our bet and now have to pay up!" Saying all of this while still unable to get up off the ground, but still with a big grin on his face.

Jiraiya responds, "Yeah, while your accomplishments are impressive, you're still years away from besting me. Besides we should at least wait to teach you all of those jutsu until you can stand gaki."

Naruto replies with a deadpan face, "You're just saying that so you can go peeking on naked women pervy sage. Though you still have a point in the fact that I'm still to tired to learn a jutsu right now, but I'll be ready to go in a few hours, so don't get your hopes up."

Jiraiya sags a little bit, but snaps right back up to say, "Alright, we'll start up again in four hours, so go eat something with at least one vegetable in it, then shower and change your clothes in that time."

Naruto replies, "Sure thing pervy sage!", hopping off the ground and sprinting away, the thrill of learning a new jutsu overriding his exhaustion.

Jiraiya can only sigh with a grin at Naruto rambunctious energy as he begins his thoughts, 'Maybe it's time to try an loosen the seal of the nine tailed fox. With the speed of Naruto's progress he should be ready to handle more of the fox's chakra, even though this is a little earlier than I expected. I know Naruto is going to be upset that I wont be teaching him a jutsu, but I should be able to deflect that by telling him that having more access to the fox's chakra will enable him to do even more powerful jutsu and we'll work on that once he gets control of the nine tails power.' Jiraiya then begins the preparations needed to loosen the seal, so as to ensure the fox doesn't escape during the process, and wondering if he should loosen it a little bit more than planed, after all Naruto's a lot stronger than he anticipated him to be at this stage of his training, what's the worst that can happen, he'll be there to tighten it back up if he needs to.

Naruto is heading to the training sight they've been using this past few weeks to meet up with Jiraiya to collect on his winnings by learning a new jutsu. The training grounds are mostly an open field with a river running through it and some large rocks spread about, with the hole area being surrounded by large trees. Making it an ideal place to let loose some real badass jutsu. It's been four hours after having won the bet, now he's finally going to learn something totally awesome, like a elemental jutsu that can vaporize a field in a single shot, or that neat hair mane lion something he's seen pervy sage use. Man he can't wait, so starts running full blast towards the training grounds.

Once Naruto arrives at the training ground, with a trail of dust fallowing behind him, he notices a toad with really long scroll like body standing next to Jiraiya.

He wonders if he's going to learning some kind of summoning collaboration justu like what Jiraiya does with the chief toad, so wondering what's going on, he asks, "Hey pervy sage, who's the scroll toad and what's he doing here?"

The toad answers before Jiraiya can, "My name is Gerotora and I expect you to show me some respect! This scroll happens to be the key to your seal given to me by the fourth Hokage himself brat!"

Somewhat bashfully Naruto responds, " Sorry I didn't mean to be rude but I didn't know that, besides how is it disrespectful to just ask someone their name!", that last part being said with anger.

Gerotora answers, "Because you were asking Jiraiya and ignoring me while also insulting my looks brat!"

Naruto fires back, "Who knew toads were so touchy, and besides, I wasn't insulting the way you look! I was just calling it as I saw it and by the way, you actually kind of look cool. I was hoping that I'd be learning some kind of cool collaboration jutsu!"

Gerotora responds with a blush, " Oh uh, thinks I guess and unfortunately you wont be learning any jutsu from me. I'm not suited for combat, like I said I hold the key to the nine tailed fox's seal."

Naruto simply replies, "Oh no biggie, but why are you here than if your not here to teach me a jutsu and what does it have to do with the fox?"

At this point Jiraiya takes charge of the conversation, "What he's here for is to loosen the nine tail's seal, so you can have access to more of the fox's chakra. Now before you get your panties in a bunch about not learning a jutsu, put in mind that with access to more of the fox's chakra not only will it increase all of your abilities from strength to speed, but it will also give you access to more chakra, which means you'll be able to learn more powerful jutsu than otherwise without. Plus, weather you like it or not, you're going to have to learn to control the nine tail's power sooner or later. The truth of the matter is that the seal gets weaker with every passing year, eventually it will fail entirely and if you're not ready the fox will escape, killing you in the process."

At this point, Naruto's sweating with fear and loudly gulps, leaving him with the only option but to nod his head in understanding. Jiraiya didn't like being so blunt about Naruto's predicament, but he knows anything less than the brutal truth would lead to huge argument with Naruto over the bet. 'Kami why did I ever agree to take any bet with Naruto of all people!' he thought. 'Damn I'm stupid.' Unknown to everyone, this event will lead to both Jiraiya's and Naruto's life, also the world of the shinobi, to change forever.

As Jiraiya uses the key on the seal on Naruto's stomach, Naruto begins to feel a sudden surge of power flooding through his body, changing his appearance. His finger and toe nails became elongated, along with his canines, his whisker marks became more prominent, his hair more wild and untamed. Naruto felt like things were going to get ruff, making him glad he left his headband given to him by Iruka-sensei, and the necklace by Tsunade ba-chan back in his room. He would never be able replace such precious items, after all, they were given to him by the few precious people he has in his life.

At this point Jiraiya backs off, having loosened the seal by nearly half and looks to see Naruto being shrouded in red bubbling chakra filled with pure hatred and malice, but Naruto still seemed to be in control of himself, taking the shape of a fox with two tails. It wasn't until the appearance of the third tail that things started to get really going. Naruto, with his eyes completely red and hunch over on all fours howling in rage, causing a shock wave that forced Jiraiya to jump back, started to talk in a deep growling voice, "Man I feel really strong, but the rage swirling inside is making it hard think."

Jiraiya responds with a little relief, "Whoa now gaki, you had me worried their for a moment. Now I need you to focus on maintaining that power no more, no less, got that Naruto?"

With struggled restraint he replies, "N-n-o problem pervy sag-e I got this. Believe it!"

Jiraiya responds with a little trepidation, "Alright gaki lets see what you can do in that form." With that said Jiraiya launches at Naruto with a fully powered rasangan in his hand. His attack slams into one of Naruto's tails, pushing him back and dispelling the rasangan in a single swipe. Jiraiya lands several feet back with him leaving trench marks in his wake. Before he has time to react Naruto is in his face sending an uppercut to his chin. The sage is sent flying through the air so fast all that he can hear is the sharp whistling of wind in his ears. Before Naruto can jump into the air to finish the fight, he finds himself bound by white hair in the shape of a lion coming out of the ground. Seeing nothing but a smashed log in the air, Naruto is pulled underground by the sea of white.

Jiraiya smashes out of the ground with his hair reseeding back to it's normal length, though somewhat sizzling at the ends, and unleashes a powerful stream of fire mixed with oil into the hole he made leaving Naruto trapped underground. As the ground begins to melt and crack under the sage's onslaught, the ground underneath Jiraiya has a red chakra hand burst out and grab him, forcing him end his jutsu. With a rumble and a roar, Naruto causes the ground to explode out from around him, revealing himself to be completely unharmed. Jiraiya would be impressed if it wasn't for the fact that the hand holding him was growing tighter by the second and the feel of his skin starting to burn from the contact of the nine tails chakra. Before he can figure out how to escape Naruto's grasp, Naruto pulls Jiraiya towards him and slugs him right in the face, sending the sage flying into nearby boulders, tossing up a cloud of dirt obscuring Jiraiya.

"Earth style: Dark Swamp!" Jiraiya yells, casting a jutsu that causes a deep sticky mud swamp to trap and sink Naruto inside it. While Naruto struggles as he sinks into the swamp, Jiraiya comes walking out of the dust cloud whipping the blood from his mouth saying, "Alright Naruto lets call it a day before someone gets really hurt. I'll release you from my jutsu and you can stop using the nine tails power."

Instead of a response, all Jiraiya gets is an explosion of mud, chakra, and a massive roar of rage, causing him to go on guard and for good reason. At the center of the swirling black and red chakra is Naruto, screaming in hellish pain as his skin peels off mixing his blood with the fox's chakra, until it completely surrounds him in a dome of black energy shooting into the sky, blowing back the nearby trees and causing all manor of animals to flee in the opposite direction as fast as possible. This dense and foul chakra brings a shiver of fear to creep up Jiraiya's spin. It's been a very long time since Jiraiya last felt such a sensation, leaving him very worried, but not for himself, but for Naruto. He needs to reel in the nine tails power before it's too late! As the black dome reseeds, Jiraiya sees a black miniaturized nine tailed fox, just with only four tails, and pure white eyes looking at him, bringing back that sensation tenfold. Before Jiraiya can even think about what to do next the black fox just appears out of nowhere, getting completely past his guard, slashes at him with his claws, cutting open his chest, spewing blood allover both him and the fox.

The only bright side Jiraiya can take from this development is that the attack sent him flying backwards, away from Naruto, or at least what use to be Naruto. Staggering to his feet, holding the gapping wound across his chest feeling the blood practically flood through his fingers, he gasps, not out of pain, but shock as two more tails started form from the fox's rear, making a total of six! Realizing that he's got no other option Jiraiya's hands blur through a set of hand signs, slaming his blood covered hand to the ground yells out, "Summoning jutsu!". Small black symbols spread out form under his hand causing an explosion, covering the area in white smoke to reveal a massive purple toad with black markings surrounding his eyes connecting to his eye brows, and running down his chin connecting under his mouth, he's wearing a classic black shinobi top with a huge shield strapped to his back and a sasumata in his right hand.

Jiraiya commands, "Gamaken hold Naruto off long enough for me to summon them and enter sage mode! It's the only way I can think of sealing up the fox's power in my currant condition!"

Gamaken replies in a deep voice, "I shall try, for I am ungraceful."

Then Jiraiya draws blood down from his eyes and across his cheeks to his ears, slams his hands together and starts gathering chakra, while Gamaken charges the six tailed fox Naruto that has just grown a fox skeleton on top of it. Gamaken brings down his sasumata right on top of Naruto, breaking the ground around them and kicking up a small dust storm. When it clears up Gamaken is shock to see the boy sized fox is simply holding the massive studded weapon with one hand with little effort on it's part. Even more shocking, Naruto then lifts the weapon, along with the building sized toad, and tosses them away like they were a mere pebble. Gamaken is able correct himself by gracefully flipping in the air. Upon landing the toad uses the momentum to launch himself forward yet again, but this time channels a large amount of chakra into his weapon, thus increasing it's destructive capabilities. This forces the Naruto to jump out the way, once again breaking the ground and creating a large crater that kicks up even more dirt, causing Gamaken to loose sight of his target. Naruto capitalizes on this by making bijuu bomb, small orbs of black and white chakra begin coming together in front of his snout, forming a large black ball. He further condenses this ball down to about the size of an apple, causing the ground around him to buckle under the extreme weight of it, forming a crater from under him. Then he opens his mouth so wide you can see his jaw separating and swallows the concentrated chakra ball whole, expanding his body to it's limit before letting it loose in a powerful shot at the landing toad. Being caught flat footed, Gamaken only has enough time to raise his shield and channel as much chakra into it as he can muster, before the bijuu bomb smashes into him.

A massive bang rings out as the bomb collides with the chakra enhanced shield, causing an equally massive shockwave to push out a torrent of air that slams into the nearby forest, bending, snapping, and uprooting all the trees on the perimeter of the clearing. In a split second all of this destruction is eclipsed by a blinding light and roar of a deafening explosion. The bijuu bomb ignited forward into a beam of pure chakra, consuming shield, toad, and a long path of forest, leaving nearly a mile wide trench in their place. Off to the side Gamaken is plowing through acres of trees, having both the fortune, and through extreme effort on his part, to be pushed to the side halfway down the beams path of destruction, coming to a stop by smashing into a plateau of rock.

Laying on his back covered in burns, cuts, and blood, his shield all but disintegrated and his sasumata no where to be seen, Gamaken groans in pain as Jiraiya appears on the ground by the left side of his head asking, "Are you alright Gamaken?"

The battered toad grunts out, "I'll live, but I'm unable to hold him off any longer, for I am ungraceful."

Jiraiya responds in relief, "That's alright, you held him off long enough. I'm ready to enter sage mode now, you can head back and rest. Thanks for your help!"

Instead of replying Gamaken simply disappears in a poof of white smoke. Naruto's mouth is still steaming as he locks his empty white eyes onto Jiraiya, who's hands are glowing brightly with chakra, and lets loose an animalistic roar. The time it takes for the rage filled monster to bridge the gap between him and Jiraiya is almost instantaneous, throwing an enlarged fist into Jiraiya, caving his entire body into the rock wall behind him. Withdrawing his arm, the fox just sits there roaring in victory, only to be suddenly hit by a high pressure blast of water slamming him backwards into the ground, leaving a trench in his wake.

Out of the dark hole in the rock wall, three pair's of yellow eyes with horizontal pupils can be seen moving forward into the light, revealing Jiraiya in an altered state of appearance and a small old toad on each shoulder. Jiraiya's sage mode gives him a larger more bulbous wart covered noise, toad eyes, a white beard going along his jawline to his chin, and a red hue around his eyes. The toad on his right shoulder is an old male with a green complexion, large bushy white eyebrows, a white pointy goatee, a spiky white topknot, and wearing a grey cape coming up behind him to a point, named Fukasaku. The old female toad named Shima on Jiraiya's left shoulder has a lighter pale green complexion, purple marking around her mouth, the top of her head looks as though she is wearing a purple hair net with hair-rollers underneath, and is wearing a high collar black cape.

Fukasaku with worry asks, "That there monster wouldn't happen ta be da nine tails jinchuuriki, Jiraiya-boy?"

Jiraiya answers, "I'm afraid so Boss."

Shima yells out, " How in tarnation did he turn in ta that?"

Jiraiya answers with shame in his voice, "I used the seal's key to loosen it, so Naruto could gain more access to the fox's chakra and hopefully learn control it, but it seems in both my haste and overestimation in Naruto's abilities, lead to six of the fox's nine tails to be released. I'm left with the only option to summon the both of you and enter sage mode to try and suppress him long enough to repair the seal before its too late."

Shima responds, "That has got ta be da most idiotic thing you've ever done lad! Plus bringing me out here ta fix your mess will cause me ta gain more wrinkles!"

Fukasaku chastised, "Ma their are bigger concerns right now then you getting a few more wrinkles, like da nine tailed fox getting loose!"

Shima snaps back, "Don't belittle a house wife's battle against wrinkles! They are our mortal enemies and a bane on women's society! Besides don't think I'm not taking this seriously, if ya haven't noticed I'm busy mending da lad's wound with senjutsu so he doesn't bleed ta death!"

Jiraiya placates, "Alright, that's enough you two, you're both right and I'm the one to blame for both the added wrinkles and the fox's impending release, so I'm very sorry for my mistakes, but can we please stop the fox and save my pupil?", hoping the both of them will stop screaming in his ears. Both toads nod their heads and agree to stop bickering, at least for now.

Fukasaku adds, " I hope you'll remember this da next time you try ta do something so foolish. We don't want ta have ta keep cleaning up your messes Jiraiya-boy."

Shima chimes in, "And ya can expect ta get an earful from me later lad."

Jiraiya responds, "Yes I understand and thank you helping." Before ether sage toad can utter a word they are hit with the sensation of the fox's increase in chakra, looking over at him they see him forming another bijuu bomb.

Knowing he can't let him finish making it, Jiraiya kicks off his sandals and gets on all fours, his hands and feet becoming frog-like, the red markings on his face converging together in a solid mass, looking like upside down triangles going down both sides of his face, and sharp pointed teeth, disappears in a flash leaving just a dust cloud in his wake. He reappears above the fox with a massive rasangan in his hand, slamming it down on it's head, expanding to the point it engulfs the area in a bright blue light.

Jiraiya lands after jumping back, hears Fukasaku yell out, "Boy bring da oil, Ma da fire, I'll bring da wind!"

All three of them release a torrent of wind, oil , and fire, combining them into a sea of boiling oil, rushing to the crater the fox lays in. As the sage art: sea of boiling oil hits it's mark, kicking up a field of steam and filling the air with the noise of sizzling skin, Jiraiya jumps forward with the seal key appearing on his right arm to repair the seal before the fox has time to recover, but is suddenly nocked back by a huge surge of power. Sage mode Jiraiya is eclipsed by a massive shadow as large skinless clawed fox hands smash into ground shaking the entire landscape, revealing a skinless eight tail fox the size of a mountain. It roars, send Jiriaya flying into the rock wall behind him, coughing up blood as he slams into it.

He recovers to look up in terror and stutters out, " Oh kami it's too late. What I have done?"

Naruto finds himself in his mindscape by the nine tail's cage, his jacket and shirt torn open to reveal his torso. He's on his knees holding his head while the swirl pattern of his seal on his stomach is now a solid black and pouring out into the water.

The fox starts speaking in a dark deep voice, "Yes, give into the rage. Remember all the suffering your own people inflicted upon you. Let loose our power and show them your wraith!"

At these words Naruto's eyes turn entirely red and he starts walking over to the cage.

"Good, now remove the seal and set me free!" the fox yells with a rare moment of glee in his voice and a classic sinister grin plastered across his face.

Just as Naruto's hand is touching the slip of paper, with the kanji of "seal" on it, holding the cage shut, about to rip it off a hand reaches out and grabs his arm stopping him.

"I wouldn't do that if was you." a claim and unfamiliar voice lets out.

Being pushed back away from the seal, Naruto lands on his butt, the red leaving his eyes, he looks up to see a man with azure blue eyes and spiky yellow-blond hair with jaw-length bags framing either side of his face. Wearing a standard Konoha uniform with two bands on both of his sleeves, a green flak jacket, blue forehead protector, blue sandals, and a short-sleeved long white haori closed in the front by a thin orange rope, and decorated by red flame-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" written vertically down the back.

He knows this man, after all he's looked up at his face for the majority of his short thirteen years of life. The man he has long dreamed of surpassing in the hopes of finally being respected by his village, and the man who has caused him the most pain in his life. Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, the man who saved their village by sealing the nine tailed fox inside him.

Said fox roars, "Your-" Being cut off by Naruto as he stutters out, "Your the fourth Hokage. Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

Chuckling the dead Hokage answers while helping Naruto up, "Yes Naruto, I died the day I sealed the nine tails into you, but I stored some of my chakra and consciousness into the seal to appear in your psyche as an contingency for when the seal unraveled to the point you sprouted the eight tail. Truth be told, I was hoping that it would never get this far, especially this early in your life. I never wanted to see the nine tails again, but then again, I was looking forward to meeting my son as a young man."

To this the nine tails roars out, "RRAW! FOURTH HOKAGE! COME HERE! I'LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!", he was so close to being free, yet again the fucking fourth Hokage has to show up and stop it.

The Hokage calmly responds, "Not the best invitation, so no thanks. Right, Naruto?"

Naruto simply responds, "How do you know my name?"

"How?! I'm the one who named you. You're my son after all." Minato answers incredulously.

With a look of confusion Naruto utters, "Your son?! I'm-"

The nine tails interrupts, " RAAAR!"

"You heard me, you're my son, Naruto." ignoring the fox. Naruto's face shifts from confusion to joy with a small smile and tears forming in his eyes.

Just as Naruto starts laughing the fox interrupts yet again. "RAAAR! YOU, FOURTH!"

While pointing behind himself with his left thumb at the fox, Minato says, "Man he's annoying, how about we continue this conversation somewhere quieter."

He than, with a snap of his fingers, transports them away to a place surrounded by white. "Their that's much better." the fourth Hokage said. As Naruto sobs softly and tries to rub the tears out of his eyes with his left forearm, Minato continues, "Lord third didn't tell you much of anything, did he? I guess lord Hiruzen wanted to suppress as much information about the nine tails as possible. If people found out you were my son, you'd have been in danger. I'm so sorry, Naruto."

Naruto's response is a fist to his father's stomach and starts yelling with tears streaming down his face, "Why would you ever put the nine tails inside your own son?! How could you put me through all of that?! I don't know if I'm happy or if I'm mad!"

While Naruto still sobs softly his dad asks him with a fatherly face, "Naruto, how old are you now?"

Rubbing tears from his eye he answers, "UNH...UNH... Thirteen..."

"Wow, already thirteen, huh. It must have been hard for you, Naruto. Forgive me."With a sad look on his face Minato continues, "Though I suppose it's little consolation to you for me to put on a fatherly face and apologize now, after putting you through all that."

Naruto raises his head sniffing, answers with a pout, "It's all right, I'm the Fourth's kid, I'll deal."

This causes his father to put on a pained smile before answering Naruto's previously asked question, "I sealed half of the nine tailed fox's chakra inside you, because I trusted that you would master this power, because you are my son. There's a reason I went to the trouble, it's based on something I learned thirteen years ago, when the nine tails attacked Konoha."

Naruto asks, "What?"

Minato answers, "There was a mastermind behind the fox, who manipulated him, made him assault the village. Quite a formidable shinobi, back then he saw right through all of my moves, he's no ordinary shinobi. Someone you need extraordinary strength to stand against and hope to have a chance of defeating. I believe he will attack our village again."

"Who is this guy?" Naruto asks.

"I don't know who he is, but I can you tell that he wore a mask with a hole over his right eye, which contains a sharingan with time space jutsu better than mine. I also believe he is the one leading the Akatsuki, because he told me himself that he would one day regain control of the nine tails right before he fled, so it can't be mere coincidence that a group of S class rouge shinobi would be hunting Bijuu like he is." Minato answered.

Naruto with a look of shock and panic yells out, "Me?! How I am I suppose to stop someone who even you couldn't beat? I nearly got taken by this guy's lackeys! I'm not talented or smart like you! I couldn't even stop Sasuke from leaving the village!"

"Yeah, I saw from inside your mind." his father adds.

"You watched?!" Naruto yells out in surprise.

Minato answers, "Yes, I've seen your entire life Naruto. And that's why I know you can do anything you put your mind to. You've repeatedly overcame the odds that were against you to achieve your dream. Which if I remember right, it's to surpass all of the Hokage, including me. But more than any of that, I know you can do it because you're my son and I believe in you." he says that last part while putting his hand on Naruto's head affectionately.

Naruto asks unsure of himself, "You do...? Do you really think I can?"

Minato replies without hesitation, "Well, it is the duty of a parent to unconditionally believe in their child."

That brings a large foxy grin to his face, chuckling a bit Naruto says, "Yeah, I guess I can do it, because I'm the son of the Forth Hokage, believe it!"

This makes Minato laugh out, "Ha ha ha ha, you sound just like your mother."

That causes Naruto to realize he can find out who his mother is. "Wait, who is my mom?" he asks.

His dad answers, "Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki, she was a strong willed red head, who talked with the same spirit you do. I wish I had more time to tell you about her, but my chakra's fading, so it's time for me to go, if you want to know more about your mother ask Jiraiya sensei. I will rebuild the seal for the last time." At this point Minato puts his right hand on Naruto's seal and with a twist of his hand, returns the seal back to normal.

Just before he fades out of existence, he tells his son, "I want you to know that no matter what anyone says or thinks, both your mother and I will always love you."

Jiraiya, along with the toad sages on his shoulders, looks up in fear as the nearly freed nine tailed fox starts forming a Bijuu bomb that's blocking out the sky above them. Before they can come up with a solution to their currant problem, both the bomb and the fox disappear in a explosion of smoke, shrouding the clearing. With extreme caution, Jiraiya approaches the slowly dissolving cloud of smoke to find a passed out and skinless Naruto. Once seeing Naruto in that condition, Jiraiya rushes to check on him. Kneeling down, Jiraiya flips Naruto over on to his back and checks his pulse, breathing in relief, he finds him to have a strong pulse and somewhat labored breathing, but thankfully alive. Knowing that Naruto's life is no longer in danger, not to mention everyone else in the nearby area, Jiraiya can't help but wonder what suppressed the fox's chakra and repaired the damage to the seal.

Voicing Jiraiya's thoughts Shima says, "What in tarnation happened?! How was da nine tails sealed back up?"

Fukasaku replies, "Maybe there was some type of failsafe implanted in the sealing formula to save da boy's life."

Jiraiya adds, "Minato was know for being cautious and planning ahead to counteract any unforeseen events, plus there are still many unknown aspects of the Reaper Death Seal Minato used. Perhaps Naruto will be able to shed some light on what happened once he wakes up? Until then we can only speculate as to what happened, but for now we should focus on getting him treatment for his wounds."

Jiraiya grunts in pain as he reaches down to pick up Naruto, causing Shima to state, with worry in her voice, "It's not just da boy who needs medical attention lad, you're in worse shape than he is. If it wasn't for da fact that nature chakra enhances da bodies regenerative abilities, you'd have already died of blood loss."

"Ma's right Jiraiya-boy, ya need proper medical care and time ta heal, and not just from da obvious injury running across your chest, but from da damage caused by your exposure ta that their nine tailed chakra. It's destroying every cell it comes inter contact with, like some short of poison. We've been having ta split our focus on removing it from your system and maintaining da balance of your chakra and nature chakra. I don't have to tell ya what can go wrong if that balance fails Jiraiya-boy." chimes in Fukasaku.

On that point Jiraiya can whole heartily agree, either nature energy will become too weak and he'll drop out of sage mode leaving him completely exhausted, which in his current state could prove fatal, or nature chakra could become too strong overpowering his own, turning him into a toad statue, making him a permanent part of nature.

Shima chastises, "Just be glad that da Fourth Hokage had enough foresight ta plan for your stupidity lad. Otherwise da very worst could have happened here today, because in your current condition we would never have been able ta suppress da nine tailed fox in time!"

With shame and plenty of blame on his part, Jiraiya responds, "Your right Ma, this was all my fault, clearly it was far too soon for Naruto to try and tap into the fox's power to such a degree. For now I'll focus on increasing his own strength, so that the day when he has to master the nine tail's power he'll be ready."

"Good ta hear Jiraiya-boy, but I recommend dat the boy learns senjutsu before having ta confront that their nine tails, and it'd be a few more years before I'd reckon his body be ready for da strain of senjutsu." replies Fukasaku.

"That would be for the best boss. I'll train him up as best I can and then when you think he's ready you can summon him to Mount Myoboku to train in senjutsu. Though he'll probably need more combat experience before he's ready and that's something he can only get in real battle. That'll only happen once he's back in Konoha and assigned to a team to go on missions, so that's still a long ways off if you ask me." answers Jiraiya, while he picked Naruto off the ground and started to head to the nearby town to get them both some much needed medical attention.

A few days have past since the incident with Naruto's seal, finding both Jiraiya and Naruto heavily bandaged in Jiraiya's hospital room. It kind of annoys Jiraiya at how fast Naruto tends to recover, he's already been discharged and is now removing the last of his bandages, revealing perfectly healed skin. To be honest his skin came back in under a day, but his chakra exhaustion is what kept in the hospital for as long it did and he didn't want to be bothered by the doctors, so he kept the bandages on to shut them up. While Jiraiya was still looking at about a week before he'd be discharged. This meant it'd be a week before Naruto could collect on his winnings, but instead of a disgruntled kid we find a Naruto lost on thought. He was thinking about everything he learned from his dad in his mindscape. He wanted to bombard the pervy sage with questions as soon as he woke up, but Jiraiya has been unconscious for the past couple of days, only just now waking up, and Naruto was feeling responsible for his condition. If he had been stronger and not as weak willed he could of resisted all of that hate and not hurt the pervy sage.

Before Naruto can go down that rabbit hole Jiraiya calls out, "Hey gaki! What are you thinking about? It's not like you to be lost in thought. To be honest, I thought you never really used that lump you call a brain."

While he broke out laughing, Naruto starts pouting and yells back, "Hey I have a brain! It's just I prefer to use my gut, and for your information I was thinking about how it was my fault you got hurt!"

This causes Jiraiya to immediately stop laughing and his face to take on a very serious look as he lectures Naruto, "Now you listen to me good when I tell you that the only one at fault is me. I should have never tampered with your seal, especially as much as I did at your age. It's far too soon for you to handle that type of power. I let my ego get the better of me, and we both paid the price for it, so I don't want to hear anymore of this it's my fault talk, understand? If anything I should be apologizing to you."

Somberly Naruto nods his head and replies, "Ok, but your not entirely at fault, because I do need to master the fox's power, even my father said so."

With a sudden look of shock, Jiraiya quickly asks, "What do you mean your father told you? While we're at it how about you tell me everything about how you were able to suppress the nine tails?"

The next few minutes were spent with Naruto telling Jiraiya about everything that transpired in his mindscape, only stopping to clarify a few things for the pervy sage.

Jiraiya was quiet, lost in contemplation over everything he was just told, before finally voicing his thoughts, "So it wasn't just an automated failsafe, but Minato himself, and on top of that he tells you that the nine tails attack on Konoha was orchestrated by a masked shinobi with sharingan and time space jutsu better than his own, and that he plans on finishing the job by retaking control of the nine tails. Not to mention he suspects that the same man is the one leading the akatsuki, who are planning to go after the Bijuu. Damn, this complicates things, I'm going to have to send a report of this to Tsunade, and I should try to send warnings to all the villages in procession of bijuu, to keep an eye out for the akatsuki, for they'll be after their jinchuuriki."

Letting out a sigh at all the extra work he's going to have to do, Jiraiya is interrupted by Naruto asking, "What's a bijuu and jinchuuriki?" a confused look plastered on his face.

Jiraiya can only face-palm and groan out, "A bijuu are tailed beasts, like the nine tailed fox, and jinchuuriki are people the bijuu are sealed inside of. It's a practice that came along as a means to weaponize the bijuu's massive power, after the First Hokage gave them to rivaling villages to maintain a power balance among the nations."

A moment of realization hits Naruto, he's a jinchuuriki and their are others like him out there. A million questions race a across his mind, from wondering how many their are and if they had the same upbringing as him, to how could people willing turn others into weapons against their will and hate them for it?

Seeing the thoughts swirling around in Naruto's head, Jiraiya starts answering his unasked questions, "There are nine bijuu in total, ranging from the One Tail to the Nine Tails, their power is represented by the number of tails they have. Meaning that there's never more than nine jinchuuriki at any one time, and they tend to be treated the same in every village. After all you met and fought the one tail jinchuuriki from Suna, so you know how unstable he was, that was from his horrible childhood."

"Wait, Gaara's a jinchuuriki like me?!" Naruto yells out.

"Yes, he is, gaki, so that makes him a target of the akatsuki too, but don't worry I'm already planning on warning Suna, which should be the easiest of the villages to warn." Jiraiya answers. "Now does that answer all of your questions?"

"Yeah, about jinchuuriki and bijuu anyways." Naruto replied, "But what are we going to do about me mastering the nine tails power? My dad said I'm going to need that power to beat that masked guy!"

Jiraiya in a reassuring tone answers, "Don't worry, I only said you weren't ready yet, not that you'll never master it, but we need to get you ready before we try again. That's going to include teaching you as many jutsu as you can handle, upping all of your basics even more, and sparring without the kid gloves."

Naruto almost jumped for joy at the jutsu part, didn't like the whole basic stuff again, but couldn't help but ask a question about the sparring, "What do you mean kid gloves?"

To this Jiraiya's face breaks out into a shit-eating grin and answers, "What, you thought I was fighting you seriously? Come on gaki, at best I was fighting you at high chunin level. I'm considered to be a kage level shinobi, if I sparred with you at full power you'd be left as a pile of bruises and broken bones."

Naruto would like to argue that fact, but he remembered the battle pervy sage had with Orochimaru and that had been with both of them in a weakened state, and that was a battle he couldn't even keep track of, so he relented.

Jiraiya continues with explaining his plans, "We'll start by finding out what your elemental affinity is, so we can focus on jutsu that'll be easier for you to learn. Normally it would take years of training to master even one affinity, but with the shadow clone method we'll be able to nock that out in a few weeks or months."

"That sounds totally awesome! It'll be like learning the fireball jutsu and the chidori right?!" Naruto yells out excitedly.

"Well, only if you have either fire or lightning affinities, but you could still learn weaker jutsus of affinities you don't have, but it will take longer and be harder to learn, so we'll only focus on the affinity you have. Actually, if you can hand me my scroll I'll be able tell you which ones you have."

Once hearing this, Naruto practically ran over, grabbed the scroll and tossed it to him. After Jiraiya opens his scroll and unseals a piece of paper, he hands it to Naruto and tells him to channel his chakra into it.

"What's a stupid piece a paper have to do with figuring out what affinity I have?" Naruto impatiently asks.

A frustrated Jiraiya answers, " It's called litmus paper, and it has a unique quality that reacts to a persons chakra that tells you what your affinity is. If it's fire it will burn, if it's wind it will split in two, if it's lightning it will crumple, if it's earth it will crumble, and if it's water it will get wet. Now just channel your chakra into and find out."

Doing just that, Naruto waits on baited breath as the paper splits in two.

"It appears you have an affinity for wind chakra, that's a very rare one to have, and I only know a few jutsus for that one, but the bright side is that it's unrivaled in battle power, able to cut, tear, and sever anything in its path" Jiraiya explained.

"I knew it! I knew I was unstoppable!" Naruto shouts out.

"Whoa, gaki. Hold your horses, we've only just figured this out. You must first be trained, so you can properly use and control your nature. We'll first have to practice to make your chakra's change of nature stronger. You will be doing this with as many clones as you can, while I'm still hospitalized by holding a leaf between your palms and using just your chakra to tear it completely in two." Jiraiya informs him.

Naruto replies, "No problem! I'll have it down in no time! Believe it!" and starts to run out the door, only to stop and turn around to face pervy sage and says, "Hey, I almost forgot, but my dad said to ask you to tell me about my mom, Kushina Uzumaki."

Jiraiya freezes for a second, wondering how much of the truth he should tell him about his mother and her/his clan, but decides that he already knows about his father, so why not, and tells him, "Alright, but sit down, this going to take a while."

Naruto eagerly sits down in a chair by Jiraiya's bed, waiting to hear everthing about his mother. "Ok, where to start? I guess I can start with how she was the previous jinchuuriki of the nine tails before you."

"My mom was the nine tails jinchuuriki?!" Naruto interrupts, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Keep it down gaki, or I'll not tell you about her!" Jiraiya shouts back. Naruto quickly quiets down and nods his head. "Alright, good, and yes she was selected as the second jinchuuriki host of the nine tails. Brought to Konoha all the way from the land of Eddies."

Naruto interrupts again, but much quieter, "Why? She was a stranger from another nation? Why make her a jinchuuriki?!"

Jiraiya answers, "Yes. She was from a different hidden village, another nation, but back then, the land of Fire and the land of Eddies had a very close relationship. The shinobi of Konoha's Senju clan and Uzushio's Uzumaki clan were distant blood relatives. Full of shinobi brimming with vitality, Uzushio village was known as the village of longevity. The clan-members excelled at sealing jutsu, but they were also a bit savage. The tetragram seal on your stomach was based on a jutsu originally developed by her village. She taught it to Minato, your father along with other sealing jutsu. Naruto, that symbol on the back of your jacket is the crest of Uzushiogakure village. It symbolizes to this day the camaraderie between Konoha and Uzushio, even though Uzushio no longer exists as a nation now. During the era of war and unrest, their sealing jutsu abilities were greatly feared, so were targeted and eradicated. Survivors fled and hid themselves throughout the lands."

Yet again Naruto interrupts, "But, why her, why my mom?!"

No longer caring that he keeps interrupting, its to be expected, answers, "She was born with a particularly powerful chakra. Strong even for one from her village, strong enough to suppress the nine tails. In fact, the first nine tails jinchuuriki was also an Uzushio kunoichi, which made it tradition. Her name was Mito Uzumaki, and was the wife of the First Hokage. Do you know about the battle between the first Hokage Lord Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?"

Naruto replies yeah and Jiraiya continues, "It was during that battle that in order to lend strength to lord Hashirama, who obtained the nine tails, lady Mito sealed the nine tails inside herself using sealing jutsu and becoming the nine tails jinchuuriki. Ever since, Konoha has possessed the nine tails, and when lady Mito approached the end of her life, your mother was brought in to become the nine tails next vessel."

Not surprisingly Naruto yells out, "They weren't even treating her like a person!"

Jiraiya relpies, "I don't know all of the details because everything was top secret, I only know what I do because your mother told your father, who told me. What I do know is that even though your mother was a jinchuuriki, she appeared to be happy with friends and a growing family."

This brought a smile to Naruto's face, not just because his mother was able to find happiness as a jincjuuriki, but because it made him feel closer to her. He then asked, "If my mother was the nine tails jinchuuriki then how do I now contain him?"

"I wasn't in the village at the time, but from what I've been told and what you recently revealed to me it, I can take an educated guess. You see what most people don't know and I'm guessing the masked man somehow found out about, is that the seal on a women jinchuuriki weakens during the approximate ten months she is pregnant. This is because the chakra that normally goes to the seal is diverted to the growing fetus in her womb. We only know this because the nine tails nearly escaped when lady Mito went into labor for the first time. I figure that when your mother went into labor thirteen years ago the masked man must have used this opportunity to free the nine tails and bring him under his control, forcing your father to seal the nine tails into you. That's my best guess anyway." Jiraiya answered.

Naruto responds after thinking for a few minutes, " OK, then what can you tell me about my mother as a kunoichi? What kind of jutsus did my mom know and how did she fight?"

Pondering the question for a moment, Jiraiya answers, "Well like most Uzumaki, Kushina was a master at the sealing arts, but what made your mother stick out was her ability to create chakra chains so powerful that they could suppress even the nine tails. She was also highly skilled in kenjutsu, she was one of Konoha's best to be exact. One of things she would often complain about was missing out on the chance to clash with one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of The Mist during the last war, to test her kenjutsu skills against the best shinobi swordsmen of the world."

Naruto responds to this with awe in his voice, "Wow. I can't believe my mom would have wanted to tangle with one the Seven Swordsmen if the Mist, I know I don't want to have go against one again. She must have been completely fearless."

Laughing a little bit, Jiraiya says, "I wouldn't count that time were I saved your butt from Kisame Hoshigaki, you didn't really get the chance to fight him after all."

"Huh, that fish guy with Sasuke's brother was one of the Seven Swordsmen?" a confused Naruto asked.

"Yeah, who else would I be talking about gaki?" Jiraiya, the one confused this time, asked.

"Oh I was thinking about my teams first c-rank mission to protect a bridge builder, but it turned out he lied about the kind of people that were trying to kill him, and we ended up against Zabuza, The Demon of the Mist." Naruto answered.

A very shocked Jiraiya demanded that Naruto tell him the story from the very beginning to the very end, after all it wasn't everyday a team of freshly graduated genin defeat the likes of Zabuza, Jonin sensei or not.

After about a half hour of hyperactive story telling from Naruto, Jiraiya just sits there with his jaw wide open for few minutes, before practically yelling, "You seriously left the Kubikiribocho, a legendary weapon revered as a national treasure in Kirigakure, and is probably worth hundreds of millions on the black market, as a grave marker for Zabuza in Nami! I mean I can expect that kind of idiocy from you, but not from Kakashi! I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already stolen it! Alright, the first thing we're doing once I get out of here, is to head to Nami and retrieve the Kubikiribocho, if its still there that is!"

Naruto quickly jumps up and yells back, "Hey! Don't yell at me! How was I suppose to know that sword was that important! And what do you mean we're going to Nami, you're suppose to train me, not run off trying to strike it rich pervy sage!"

Jiraiya in the blink of an eye, grabs Naruto by scruff of his jacket and pulls him up to his face and calmly says, with a deadly serious tone, "I'm not looking to strike it rich, Naruto, that blade is a very powerful weapon that any shinobi would give their left arm to have. Plus I'm not stupid and your very predictable, you're going to want to learn as many jutsus and techniques that your parents knew, so as to be closer to them. If that's really the case then you can't do any better than one of the swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. As for the training you part, I can do that on the way and we can even train for a bit in Nami. Remember I'm your sensei and even if you don't understand my methods, you can be damn sure that what I'm doing for you is for your own good. Got that Naruto?"

All Naruto could do was nod his head, for the pervy sage was right on all accounts. He wanted to learn sealing jutsu and kenjutsu like his mom and the Hiraishin his father was famous for. Even if sounded stupid or seems impossible, he wants to use these jutsu to feel closer to the parents he never got have.

Glad to see that Naruto understands, Jiraiya gently puts him back down and says, "Now go get to work on the leaf exercise, I want you to have it split in two by time we head out." As Naruto runs out to meet the pervy sages challenge, Jiraiya thinks about how hard these next two years and three months are going to be for the both of them, and can only groan out at how much research he'll be missing out on. Yet that can't keep the grin off his face as he looks out his window to see about a thousand Naruto clones holding leaves in their palms.


	2. Chapter 2

/ Naruto's Training Done Wright /

By FallenDispair

Chapter: 2

/ I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR PROFIT OFF IT/

**Edited 9/7/19**

A week had passed since Jiraiya had been discharged from the hospital, Jiraiya and Naruto are standing in front of The Great Naruto Bridge leading into Nami, looking up at the sign. That causes a single thought to enter Jiraiya's head, 'Oh great! The gaki already has an ego the size of the Hokage's monument, now it's just going to explode up to an unbelievable level.'

During Jiraiya's internal plight, Naruto is just standing there slacked jawed, unable to process the awesomeness of having a bridge that saved a nation named after him.

That didn't last long, for Naruto shouted out in glee, "See pervy sage, I told you I'm a badass shinobi and this proves it!"

"Hey gaki! Don't let this go to your head! There are countless shinobi that have accomplished outstanding and world changing events and still found themselves in an early grave. Hell, just about every Hokage, except the third, died fairly young, your father being the youngest! So don't you dare get up on some high horse when you haven't even reached the greatness of the Hokage, otherwise I might as well dig your grave right now!" Jiraiya chastised.

This causes Naruto to deflate fast and mutter out, " I'm sorry pervy sage. It's just that almost nobody thinks that I'll ever amount to anything, and to have the entire nation of Nami practically shout out otherwise, filled me up with so much joy that I couldn't contain myself."

Jiraiya responds, "Look kid, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad, you just need to realize that a swelled head has killed more shinobi than any jutsu. I don't want you to be the next victim of pride, it's called a deadly sin for a reason."

Naruto replies, "Alright pervy sage I wont forget, but once I become the greatest Hokage ever, I will have you write a book about me and it'll outsell everything you've ever written. Believe it!"

Even though he was still being boisterous, he knew that everything pervy sage said was true. His father was an unbridled genius who became the youngest Hokage in a flash, was feared throughout the shinobi world, and yet he still died young. Not to mention all of the overly confident assholes he has given a beating to in his years as a shinobi, like Neji, but he has mellowed out recently. He could make a long list of people like that, but that was boring and he had better things to do.

Jiraiya could just smirk as he replied, "Sure, if you actually accomplish your dream I'll write a book about you, but I'll tell you now, your life's story wont be able surpass my master pieces, Make-Out Paradise, Make-Out Violence, and Make-Out Innocence, even my work in progress, Make-Out Tactics will out sell your story. Trust me people want stories with passionate romance and hot sex more than a good action story."

Naruto snaps back, "My life is already a way better story than those boring perverted book you write! Only perverts like yourself and Kakashi sensei like that crap!"

"Oh really. If that was the truth then their is no way my bank account should be as high as it is. This may come as a shock to you, but my perverted books as you put it, are among the highest selling books out in publication right now. So unless you become a lot less dense about women, then their is no way in hell your life story will even hold a candle to my Make-Out series gaki." Jiraiya laughs back.

With a blush Naruto says, "Hey! I'm not dense about girls, don't you remember my Sexy Jutsu and I do have a crush on Sakura-chan."

Jiraiya turns to face Naruto while he simply replies, "First of all, an understanding of the female form is not the same as understanding women. Secondly, with this Sakura girl, you're only proving my point. If you had even the slightest of understanding of women, you'd know that girl has no romantic interest in you what so ever. Hell, with the way she begged you to bring back Saskue should have been a big hint at who she loves."

With fire in his voice, Naruto says, "Yeah I know she loves Saskue, but that doesn't mean she can't become interested in me! All I have to do is keep trying, she'll eventually accept my feelings for her! I don't give up! That's my nindo! Believe it!"

Realizing that he needs to nip this in the bud and fast, Jiraiya, with a serious look and tone of voice says, "Naruto, I need you to pay attention to me because what I'm about to say maybe harsh but it's the cold hard truth. Their is nothing wrong with persistence, but eventually you have to except when someone doesn't feel the same way about you as you do them. Trust me, nothing good will come out of a one-sided obsession. At best, it will lead you down a life of loneliness, where you'll be envious of the happiness of others, never experiencing it for yourself. At the worst you can end up driving her away completely, where she will go out of her way to avoid you, cutting off all ties with you. No more being on the same team, no more friendship, nothing. Do you really want to lose her as friend and teammate?"

Naruto had never even considered that she could get so fed up with him that she'd stop being his friend. He loves her, but he'd rather let her go and keep her as a friend, than hold on so tight that she'd stop being in his life.

Sadly he replies, tearing up, "No. I don't want to lose Sakura, but I don't know how I'm suppose to stop loving her that way."

Jiraiya answers with understanding and compassion, "I'm afraid that you may never stop loving her in that way, but you can let her go and be happy that she's happy. To do this you'll have to try finding someone else who returns your feelings, and trust me when I tell you, you'll feel much more love than you've ever felt before. In the moment where your feelings are returned, will you truly understand what love is."

Sniffling a little bit Naruto asks, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to hear it and I don't want you to end up like me. I spent so much time chasing after Tsunade, that my entire life passed me by. Sure I'm a famous shinobi and author, but I missed out on having a family of my own. Who knows how many opportunities I missed out on by not being able to move on from her, even though she rejected me repeatedly, usually with a fist to the chin. The point I'm trying to get across to you is that you shouldn't be so blinded by what's right in front of you, that you miss out on what was waiting right around the corner." Jiraiya answered, with the hope that at least Naruto would give it some thought.

"I-I don't know if I can, but I'll try pervy sage. Just, lets not talk about this anymore, please." Naruto choked out.

He wasn't expecting for things to get so real all of a sudden. It's just too much for him to think about right now, maybe he'll figure it out latter.

Jiraiya simply nods his head and turns back around to continue crossing the bridge, knowing Naruto needs time to process what he said. After all, one doesn't get over someone with the snap of their fingers, it takes time and a whole lot of self examination, and even then their is no guarantee you will.

Walking a few paces behind Jiraiyia, Naruto is lost in thought, eyes squinted shut and chin in his hand. In an attempt to avoid thinking about his love life, or lack of one, he's thinking about the training he has been doing since Jiraiya was hospitalized, to now. The first three days of trying to split a leaf with just his chakra had been progressing slowly, some of his clone could barely rip the leaf, while others would be over halfway through it. Then their was the annoying way people would watch him, like they never saw a bunch of clones hunched over and grunting before, ok that was probably true, but it still made him nervous. So he ended up having to find somewhere else to train, and it had nothing to do with nurses repeatedly asking if he had constipation!

Anyways, fed up with not getting it, Naruto ran back to pervy sage to ask if he knew a trick to getting the feel for wind chakra. Seeing as Jiraiya didn't have an affinity for wind chakra he couldn't help, but he did tell him that Asuma Sarutobi was the only one he knew that had it. Showing Naruto how to use messenger toads, he was able to get some advice from Asuma sensei about how he needed to split his chakra and grind them against each other, like sharping a blade. But that didn't come free, he was going to have to treat Asuma's team to a meal once he got back to the village. It didn't seem like a big deal to him, so naturally he agreed, he even added in, treating them to one meal for each wind jutsu scroll he could give him.

That's how Naruto now had a scroll on how to channel wind chakra into weapons and release it to slash his enemies.

A scroll on the Wind Style: Gale Wolf, it gathers wind into the shape of a wolf that tackles into a target causing a condensed explosion of wind, cutting and tearing anything to pieces.

Last, but not least, is the scroll on Wind Release: Wind Dragon, it releases a dragon made of wind that plows through anything in it's path, slicing them up with wind blades.

They were jutsu that he wouldn't be able to even attempt until he mastered using wind chakra, but he'd get there and it only cost him treating team Asuma to four meals, no biggie. It only just now came to his realization that feeding Choji was apart of the deal he already made!

This causes Naruto to fall to his knees with anime tears pouring down his face and scream up into the sky while, holding his toad shaped wallet in his hands, "Oh great kami what I have done?! Forgive me Gama-chan!". He was going to be eaten into bankruptcy!

Hearing Naruto screaming causes Jiraiya to turn around with a confused look on his face and ask, "What in the world are you crying about gaki?"

Standing up now, but with anime tears still pouring down his face, he answers, "I promised to treat team Asuma to four meals when we get back to the village."

"Team Asuma? Oh that's your generations Ino-Shika-Cho trio.", that causes Jiraiya to burst out into laughter, "Ha ha ha ha, you're so screwed gaki! The Akimichi appetite is legendary! You'll be lucky to keep the clothes on your back! Why in the hell did you promise that?"

Naruto bashfully answers, "I did it for some advice on using wind chakra and three scrolls on wind jutsu."

Jiraiya laughs back, "Asuma played you big time! But look at it this way, at least you learned a lesson on making deals, and that's if it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is!"

While Jiraiya continues on his way across the bridge, laughing loudly the whole way, Naruto just pouts, falling in behind him. Eventually Jiraiya's laughter dies down, allowing Naruto to return to his thoughts about his training. After getting what he thought was a good deal, Naruto was able to complete the leaf splitting exercise by the fourth day.

He went back to pervy sage for the next exercise to only be told to go back and try to split a tree with his wind chakra in a single burst, normally he would have been told to split a waterfall, but there weren't any nearby. The pervert said it had to do with increasing the strength of his wind chakra's release, now that he got a feel for using it. So for the remaining three days of waiting for the pervy sage to be released from the hospital, he and more than a thousand clones could be found in the nearby forest trying to cut down trees with just his chakra. He was just glad those trees weren't even half the size of the ones in Konoha, that would have taken him months, even with clones, to cut through one.

By the time they left for Nami, one would find thousands upon thousands of trees cut in varying degrees of slash marks on them, but not a single cut down tree. That didn't mean he was done trying, all along the way he'd send a thousand clone to find trees and continue, while he'd occasionally spar with pervy sage. When Jiraiya said no more kid gloves, he meant it, Naruto was sometimes beaten so bad that Jiraiya would have to carry his unconscious carcass for the rest of the day and he wouldn't wake until the next afternoon! Seven days of that while traveling nearly killed him, but at end of it, just before arriving at the Great Naruto Bridge, he was able to split a tree in a single burst of wind chakra, meaning he could start on learning wind jutsu. He was just starting to practice channeling wind chakra into his kunai, along with a thousand clones of course, but Jiraiya made him stop as soon as the bridge became visable, saying it would upset the locals and that he could continue once they retrieved the Kubikiribocho.

Once they made it across the bridge, Naruto is taken back at how good Nami looks compared to how it use to look, the difference is like night and day. Where there use to be rundown buildings and homeless people crowding the streets, there is now a bustling shopping district filled with patrons and happy children running around.

Naruto is interrupted by his stupor by Jiraiya saying, "Alright gaki, you can take in the sights later. Hurry up and take me to Zabua's grave, so we can get his sword and start your training in kenjutsu."

"Gees pervy sage, I haven't been here in like two years and a lot has changed in that time, let me get my bearings." a perturbed Naruto replied.

With a deadpanned face Jiraiya asks, "Don't tell me you forgot where you buried their bodies?"

"Uh, no. I just can't exactly remember where it is at the moment, give me a minute pervy sage!" a dumbfounded Naruto answers lamely.

That answer leads to Jiraiya to gain a few tick marks on his forehead, while he menacingly advances forward, cracking his knuckles, overshadowing him. "Here let me help jog your memory." Jiraiya heatedly stated.

After a few nocks to his head and several pain filled screams later, Naruto was able to remember in keen detail where Zabuza and Haku are buried. Unfortunately, the Kubikiribocho was already gone without a trace, leaving Naruto sweating bullets as Jiriaya had a look that could kill, but not the fast, drop dead kind, no, the slowly torment you to death kind. Fortunately for Naruto, Jiraiya was a level headed person, well whenever it didn't involve beautiful women that is, and was already heading back to town to dig up whatever information they could about Zabuza's blade.

As it turned out, their was rumor saying that the one who knows the location of Zabuza's blade is Tazuna, with that in mind, Naruto leads pervy sage to Tazuna's house by leaping through the trees at full speed. Dusk was approaching and they needed to hurry if they wanted to get there before nightfall, plus he's rather excited to see the old drunker and his family again after all this time.

On the way there Naruto spots two trees with slash marks going all the way up them, he can't help but remember the heated struggle he went through to catch up to Saskue in the tree climbing exercise. Just like then, Naruto finds himself struggling to catch up with Saskue, but also like then, he'll catch up and bring him home. He's brought out of his thoughts when he sees Tazuna showing Inari how to properly cut a piece of lumber to size.

Landing a few feet in front of them, Naruto yells out, "Hey old man, Inari, how are you guys doing?!"

Looking up at the ever familiar loud mouth, to see Naruto approaching them with a huge grin on his face, Tazuna, with a grin appearing on his face, replies, "If it isn't my favorite pipsqueak! It's good to see you."

Tazuna is a grey-haired, bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes, wearing a sleeveless V-neck shirt with an obi, pants, a pair of sandals, and is carrying a towel around his neck.

Inari's face breaks out into equally large grin before yelling out at the same time as his grandfather, "Hey Naruto! What's up?", he's a kid with spiky black hair and dark colored eyes, and apparently he's taken up wearing the same clothes as Tazuna.

Naruto scowls at the pipsqueak remark, he's still a little sensitive about his height, before yelling back, "Yeah it's good to see you to, you old drunk! Inari, man, what have you grown a foot, and now dressing like your gramps!? I think I'm offended to not seeing you wear at least a little of my hero orange."

This time it's Tazuna's turn to scowl, he doesn't drink as much as he use to, things are much better now and work is pouring in faster than he can handle.

While Tazuna scowls, Inari answers, "Yup! I'm going to be taller than you at this rate, and for your information I have a custom made orange towel I'll be wearing when I start working jobs with gramps. Believe it!"

That reaction brings a smile to Naruto's face, while both Jiraiya and Tazuna just stand there with deadpan faces, hoping Inari will outgrow that habit.

Snapping out of his stupor, Tazuna asks, "Hey brat. Who's the big guy? Did something happen to your sensei and where's the rest of your team?"

That gets Naruto to stop his conversation with Inari, to answer, " Huh? Oh! No Kakashi sensei is fine and Sakura-chan is training back at the village with Tsunade-baachan, and that's pervy sage, he's training me for the next, ah, two years and two months." Naruto replied.

Jiraiya shouts out, "Hey gaki! I have name! It's Jiraiya the Gallant, the Toad Sage of Mount MyoBoku, and one of-"

"A super pervert who calls peeking on women in the bath research, so in short, pervy sage." Naruto interrupts causing said pervert to just sag with a rain cloud over his head.

"What about Saskue? What's he doing?" Inari asked completely ignoring Jiraiya.

"Oh, ah, you see, we kind of got into a fight, but don't worry! We'll resolve our problems when I'm done training." Naruto shakily answered.

Inari wanting clarification asks, "What did you guys fight about? Was it over Sakura?" the last part being said playfully.

Naruto becomes a bit saddened, while looking down at the ground, unable to look anyone in the eye, he thinks just not of Saskue's defection, but his failed attempts with Sakura that Jiriaya poked at earlier.

Seeing Naruto's downtrodden look, Tazuna says, "Alright Inari, that's enough of that. Whatever happened is between them is none of our business. Come on Naruto and pervert, lets go inside and talk about what brings you here."

Inari just took the hint and silently fallowed his grandfather back to their house, with Naruto doing the same. Only Jiraiya was dragging his heels, slightly muttering to himself how no one shows him any respect.

After heading inside, they are greeted by Tazuna's daughter, a long blue haired beauty wearing a short-sleeved pink shirt with the end of the sleeves and collar being red, and a long blue skirt, named Tsunami, who invites Naruto and Jiraiya to join them for their meal. Natural they both agree, but for different reasons. Naruto is simply hungry and is looking forward to a home cooked meal, while Jiraiya is more interested in perving out on Tsunami and getting the location on the Kubikiribocho. Sitting around a table in their dinning area, that's in compete view of a modest kitchen, Jiraiya, Naruto and Tazuna get down to business, while Tsunami has Inari help her bring the food to the table.

"Alright, we were told that you would know the location of Zabuza's sword, mind filling us in? Or was that all just a rumor and we're wasting our time here?" Asked Jiraiya.

Tazuna's face showing a sudden look of realization answers, "No, it's not just a rumor, I know exactly where his sword's at, or more exactly to say who has it. To be honest I was contemplating whether or not to hire your team to take care of the issue, but I've been very busy lately doing jobs all over the elemental nations. Then again, it's my fault that piece of scum got his hands on Zabuza's sword in the first place!"

With a shocked expression Naruto asks, "How is it your fault someone stole it? Did you try selling it for more booze?"

Jumping up and yelling in Naruto's face, Tazuna says, "No you little brat! I didn't try selling it for booze you imbecile! I might like the occasional drunk more often than not, but I'm not about to desecrate the grave of the man who kill that little shit Gato, just to buy a drink!"

A Bashful Naruto says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you, I just don't know how it's your fault." Then jumping up himself adds, "Hey! Don't call me stupid you old fart!", only then just realizing what imbecile means.

With sparks shooting from their eyes and colliding, looking like a fight was eminent, only to be stopped by Tsunami with a look that only women have, saying keep it up and you'll live to regret it. They both sat back down with a shiver running through them at the image of unspeakable horrors being inflicted upon them, but still glaring at each other. The conversation was put on hold while food was past around and everyone had their share, talking lightly about everyday things and a few exaggerated stories. Tsunami would not allow any arguments to disturb the meal she made and not a man there would do otherwise. Thus it was after she cleared the table and sent Inari to wash up and head to bed, that they could get back to the issue of Zabua's stolen blade.

This time Jiraiya, wanting to do all of the talking, asks, "Now, how exactly is it your fault that Zabuza's sword was stolen?"

Tazuna answers with shame, "It's all because of a big job I got around here and their was no way I'd pass up a job that paid good and was local. This job was for a man named Tenzen, he wanted a castle built to look traditional but with modern comforts like pluming, electricity, AC and heating. It was a big job offering a lot work to a lot of people, and with a still recovering economy, I wasn't in any position to say no. For the most part everything seemed on the up and up, he paid for all the materials and half the labor costs before we even started, that's why I got chummy with the guy. Eventually the story of Gato's rise to power, our pain and suffering that fallowed, to how he was finally killed, came up. When I told him how Zabuza died killing Gato, he quickly asked where he was buried and what happened to his sword. I was little drunk at the time and I didn't see any harm in it, so I told him. It wasn't until after we finished building his castle that Tenzen changed, or more accurately showed his true colors, swarms of his thugs came and inhabited the area! He had them steel Zabuza's sword and give it to his bodyguard, he's even calming to be the one who killed Zabuza, using the sword as proof. Ever since, they've been shaking down small businesses, running illegal gambling halls, and even started selling drugs! We ended up helping a crime boss get his hooks in our country!" Tazuna was yelling out in anger at himself by this point.

"Hey you can't blame yourself for some scum coming along and taking advantage of all of you in a vulnerable moment. Tenzen is the only one to blame, so stop attacking yourself." Jiraiya sternly said, trying to get him relax.

Taking a calming breath, Tazuna replies, "You're right, but still, after Gato I should have seen this coming."

"Don't be so hard on yourself old man, besides we're here and I'll personally kick this Tenzen guy's ass straight out Nami! Believe it!" Naruto shouted out while slamming his fist on his puffed out chest.

"Thank you Naruto. I just wished we didn't need you to fix our mistakes." Tazuna says with a small smile and tired eyes.

Tenzen has kept him worried for a while now, but his crimes are small at the moment and are only affecting a few small towns, so getting the majority of the people to take action is difficult, not to mention Tenzen bribes local officials to turn a blind eye. In a few years he could end up being as bad as Gato, and that's the last thing he wants to happen, so he'll rely on Naruto again to save them.

"It's no problem, like the gaki said, we'll take care of it. Besides we'll have to take care of this Tenzen guy to get back the Kubikiribocho, so just consider our helping you as a coincidence." Jiraiya stated, then asks, "Can you show us on a map exactly where his castle is and perhaps it's layout?"

"Yes, of course, it's the least I can do. I'll be back with a map and the castle's blueprints.", answered Tazuna.

It's about mid-afternoon when Naruto is watching hundreds of Tenzen's men riding in on horseback. The night before, after going over the blueprints to make sure their are no secret passageways out of the building and going over the surrounding terrain in case of having to chase down anyone fleeing, Jiraiya went to the castle to frighten Tenzen into calling in all of his men from all over Nami to protect him from Naruto's impending invasion.

They agreed to do this so that they can round up his entire crew in one shot. Now Naruto is waiting as the last of his men to make it inside the castle's gates, he'll be going in alone as a way to gauge his progress and give him some more combat experience. To make it harder on him, Jiraiya forbid the use of lethal force, even though Naruto was never planning on killing anyone in the first place, because sometimes he'll be sent on missions that involve capturing your pray alive. Also he's not allowed to use any of his jutsu, Jiraiya said that relying on jutsu to win a fight is dangerous, for their will be times when you'll not be able to use jutsu, so you'll need to be able fight and win without them. In short, this is a test of his taijutsu, skills with his ninja tools, and his ability to improvise. Seeing the last horse cross through the gate before it slams shut, locking in place, Naruto begins his assault on the enemies fortified position.

The plan is simple enough, he rigs explosion tags at the gate and rear wall of the castle grounds to split their forces. Then he'll start tearing into their numbers by climbing over one of the undamaged walls, completely unnoticed by the guards, who will be too busy trying to put out fires and planning to counter a fictional pincer maneuver, picking them off one by one with improvised traps. That'll only last of so long, before they notice that the explosions were just misdirection and that they're already under attack. When that happens he'll switch to using kunai and shuriken to disarm/immobilize them, finishing them off with nothing more than his taijutsu.

All of that happened in almost a blur, because Naruto took off his leg weights before arriving, making him far too fast for those second rate thugs to even see. Things would have been very different if there had been even one shinobi amongst them, but Tenzen didn't spring for any, idiot! Disappearing and reappearing, Naruto took them all out one by one, not even getting a scratch in the process, after all compared to his spars with pervy sage they might have well been standing still.

Throughout the compound screams of pain and fear can be heard, followed by an orange blur moving about with no resistance, dropping smoke bombs everywhere, removing all visibility, that actually causes some of them to takeout each other. By the time the smoke cleared, it'd become silent and all of Tenzen's men could be found spread out in various states of unconsciousness, battered black and blue, riddled with kunai or shuriken, tied upside down hanging from trees and the castle, all alive but in a lot of pain. Standing in the middle of the carnage, is Naruto, completely unharmed, not even breathing hard, to be honest he could have beaten this lot back before the chunin exams, looking up at the top of the castle with fierce eyes, where Tenzen was hiding out.

With a smirk, Naruto kicks in the castle's doors and runs through the building, dispatching the few guards Tenzen had left on the way to the top. Going up the final flight of stairs Naruto enters a large room with Tenzen, who's shaking in fear and standing in the center of the room. As Naruto approaches him, a large broadsword, as tall as a full-grown man, shaped like a butcher knife with two cut outs, a circle close to the top and a semi-circular one nearer to the extremely long handle, comes slamming down on Naruto.

Naruto barley dodges in time, jumping to the side, causing the kubikiribocho to become embedded in the floor, leaving the large bodyguard wide open. Naruto goes in with a jumping uppercut, launching the bodyguard into the air and releasing his grip on the blade. He then jumps up above the flying guard, and goes into a spinning heel axe kick, connecting with the guards head, slamming his face into the ground and nocking him out.

Turning around to face the quivering Tenzen, Naruto grabs the handle of the kubikiriboko with one arm and lifts up, only to be unable to remove it from the floor, it weighs more than pervy sage! Adjusting his grip with both arms this time, he lifts the blade up and on his right shoulder, only to begin to fall backwards, but he was prepared for that and quickly shifted his bodyweight forward to counter balance the blades weight, grunting softly.

Tenzen can't believe what's happened, a little fucking kid dressed in orange has single handedly destroyed his entire crew! He knew that a shinobi was coming for his life, he was told by a masked man, receiving a small fortune in exchange, that the local villagers secretly hired the same leaf shinobi who saved there country from Gato, so he summoned every last man in his employ to protect him. In having watched this kid wipe out hundreds of the best skilled mercenaries money could buy, Tenzen had given up all hope that he was going to survive. He now regretted not springing for rouge shinobi, they are apparently worth the cost, too late now. As the boy lifted the blade up on his shoulder, Tenzen droped to his knee's and started begging for his life. Offering up all the money he had and even promised to leave Nami and never return.

After listening to the cowardly excuse of a man beg for his filthy life, Naruto said with venom in his voice, "Fine, I shall let you live, but only if you return all the money you've taken from the people of Nami!"

Tenzen quickly bowed his head and yell out in relief, "Yes, yes, of course! Thank you for your gen-"

Cutting him off by swinging the kubikiribocho down a few inches from splitting his head open, Naruto yells out, "I don't want your thanks scum! I want nothing more than to see you die, but that wouldn't get the people of Nami their hard earned money back! It's because of them you get to live, so be thankful to them! You have till the end of the week to do everything I told you to do and leave Nami forever! If you ever do something like this again, I will find you and kill you! Do you understand me?"

Tenzen, with his newly formed puddle of urine and slightly cut head, meekly cries out, "Yes! I understand!"

Naruto removes the blade from his head and stabs it into the ground, then while cracking his knuckles, replies with a fox-like grin, "Good. Now that we got that out of the way, I can now start your beating for disturbing Zabuza's grave and for claiming to have killed him."

What fallows is an hour long ass-whopping filled with pleading screams and begging for mercy, all of which go ignored.

Waiting for Naruto in the castles courtyard is Jiraiya, sitting on a pile of beaten thugs, holding a small scroll in his right hand and leaning his head on his left. He had spent his time collecting the sellable weapons belonging to the unconscious thugs and checking if any of them had a bounty on their head. As it turned out a few did, the ones Jiraiya is sitting on, he plans on sealing them up inside a toad and turning them in for their bounties at the nearest police station. It wasn't going to be all that much, maybe two million ryo, they're just small time criminals wanted for their various crime here and there.

If it'd been a bounty on a shinobi, we'd be talking tens of millions to hundreds of millions, but unless they were rouges like Orochimaru he wouldn't even try, it could cause all sort of trouble and he didn't like the idea of hunting people down for doing their jobs. Most bounties on shinobi are for collecting vendettas or stealing blood-line abilities like the sharingan, exclusively run by criminals hidden throughout the elemental nations, making shutting them down extremely difficult.

Anyways, he plans on giving Naruto both the money from the bounties and the money he tricked Tenzen out of. It's only fair after all, he did just do a C to low B rank mission, so he should get paid, plus he was the one who beat the guys with the bounties. Besides, Jiriaya makes lots of money from his books, so he doesn't need the cash.

Seeing Naruto walking out of the castle with his trademark grin and the kubikiribocho on his shoulders, Jiraiya complains, "Gaki, what took you so long? Were you having trouble lifting that oversized sword or just enjoying yourself?"

Chuckling a bit, Naruto answers, "Yes, actually, I really enjoyed kicking that jerks ass and this sword weighs more than you do pervy sage. How exactly am I suppose to learn kenjutsu with a blade I can bearly swing?"

Jiraiya responds, "You do have a point, so I guess you'll just have to build up your physical strength to the point were you can swing it like it's a kunai before learning any actual kenjutsu."

"Why can't I practice kenjutsu with a lighter blade until I'm strong enough to weld the kubikiriboko?" Naruto asked.

"Well I suppose you could practice the basic forms, but to truly master a kenjutsu that fits the kubikiribocho you'll need to be able to weld it, for it's weight is part of it's effectiveness and use. So you'll need to get use to it's weight, to do that I want you to carry it with you at all times, until you don't even notice the weight." Jiraiya answered.

"What?! I have to carry this around with me all the time! This damn thing is like twice the size of me! Do you have any idea how annoying that's going to be?" a perturbed Naruto screamed.

"Yeah, so get over it. The payoff in the long run far out ways the short term annoyance." Jiraiya said.

"Alright fine, but their is something that's been bothering me pervy sage, I've never seen you with a sword, let alone use one. So do you even know any kenjutsu? Naruto asked.

Jiraiya simply answers in a nonchalantly manner, "Nope, not really. I just now some of the basics of using a sword. I'm not in any position to teach kenjutsu."

That causes Naruto to face plant and even the kubikiriboko seems to have a sweat drop. Jumping up and pointing his newly gained sword at pervy sage, yells out, "Then what the hell was the point in getting this sword if you can't teach me to use it pervy sage!"

Hopping off the pile of thugs, Jiraiya placates Naruto by answering, "Relax gaki, I might not be able to teach you kenjutsu but I know plenty of kenjutsu masters that'll gladly teach you."

Putting the blade back on his shoulder Naruto replies, "Ok, but who are these masters and where do we have to go to meet them?"

Answering Naruto, Jiraiya says, "Actually you've already met one them and we don't have to go anywhere, we can just summon them to us."

A very confused Naruto replies, "Huh. I don't remember meeting a kenjutsu master, well at least one that would teach me, and what do you mean summon them? Do they take house calls or something?"

An exasperated Jiraiya, with a twitching eyebrow yells, "Toad summons you idiot! Haven't you noticed how some of them use swords! Kami gaki how dense can you be?!"

Naruto snaps back, "Hey! It's not my fault that you didn't just say that you loudmouthed pervert!"

"I shouldn't have to! I even used the word summon as a clue, but then again I should have known you're too stupid figure it out!" Jiraiya screamed back.

Naruto fires back, "Don't call me stupid you pervert!"

Jiraiya ends their argument by stating, "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a pervert! I'm a super pervert! Hee hee hee!"

With a deadpan face Naruto replies, "Yeah. Yeah. I get it, you're a super pervert. Happy now?"

Proudly Jiraiya answers, "Yup! As happy as a super pervert in a mixed bathing house. Ha ha ha.", laughing loudly to himself in joy.

After his laughter dies down, he gets back on point by saying, "Like I was trying to say earlier, we can just summon one of the toads that have mastered kenjutsu to teach you, probably one of the smaller ones, we don't wont you getting crushed in the process."

Naruto just nods his head in agreement, he can imagine the chief toad flattening him with one swing of his building sized blade.

"Oh by the way, here catch." Jiraiya tossed him the small scroll he was holding.

Catching the scroll with his left hand, keeping the right holding the handle of his sword, Naruto asks, "What is this? A jutsu?", he excitedly hoped.

"Nope. Just ten million ryo I got off Tenzen for telling him about your attempt on his life." Jiraiya answered with a grin.

"What? Really! Wow! I wont have to worry about buying ramen for a long time with that much money! Why are you giving this to me?", an extremely happy Naruto asks.

"Well you did just beat this small army of thugs without using a single jutsu, so lets call it a reward. Though I wouldn't be too attached to that ramen idea if I was you, or did you forget about having to feed an Akimichi four times." Jiraiya answered with a twisted since of humor.

Remembering his deal with Asuma, Naruto's head drops with a rain cloud over it, crying about how his stupid deal just cost him his dream of never ending ramen.

Helping to snap Naruto out of his depression, Jiraiya says, "Relax, you'll get around an extra two million by collecting the bounties on these morons.", pointing at the pile of thugs he was sitting on earlier.

That bit of news gets the rain cloud to disappear and a smile to come across Naruto's face. It might not be as much, but it'll still get him a lot of ramen.

Shouting out in joy, he says, "Come on then pervy sage! Lets go collect my money already!", running off at full speed, completely forgetting to grab the guys they need to turn in to collect the money, and not even knowing where to go.

Jiraiya just seals the thugs up and casually walks out of the compound, knowing eventually Naruto will come back with a sheepish grin admitting he didn't know what to do.

Two weeks have past since Naruto retrieved the kubikiribocho and collected all that sweet cash, and Tenzen left Nami, doing everything he was told to do, never to come back.

In a clearing in the woods, near Tazuna's house, fifty clones and the original Naruto are going through basic kenjutsu forms under the instruction of Gamatana, a small pink elderly toad dressed in a traditional purple hakama, white kataginu, and a katana at her waist. She is the head kenjustu instructor on Mount Myuboku and only agreed to teach Naruto because she was ordered to by the honored toad sages.

The clones are using wood carved replicas of the kubikiribocho, while Naruto uses the real one, which leads him to often fall face forward or on his backside, smacking his face into the swords spin or his head into ground. That causes Gamatana to hit him with her sheath for messing up his forms, and his clones to start laughing at him, ungrateful pricks. On top of his kenjutsu instruction, he has to do an arduous physical training regiment to increase his strength, plus, about a thousand clones are divided up and training on various jutsu and skills. The most boring one is calligraphy, but pervy sage said it's vital that he masters it before he starts learning sealing jutsu. At the end of the day he is covered in dirt, blood, and bruises being dragged into Tazuna's home by Jiraiya because he still passes out when his clones disperse.

He'll wake up a few hours later and wash up for dinner made by Tsunami, they've let both Jiraiya and Naruto stay at there house while they're in Nami, as thanks for getting ride of Tenzen and his crew. The time with Tazuna's family has been like a dream for Naruto, it's how he imagined having a family would be like. A crazy uncle that annoys him to no end, but you can't help but like anyways. A little brother that practically worships him, even though they get into the occasional argument. A stern but loving mother who'll be concerned when he comes home hurt, yet will punish him for dragging in mud. A grandfather that embarrasses him all the time, but he wouldn't trade for all the ramen and jutsu in the world.

He wished it could last forever, but pervy sage said they'd only stay for two weeks, meaning they'd be leaving tomorrow afternoon. When he asked why, Jiraiya said that to keep up with his spy network he had to always be on the move, never staying in one place for too long. Even though that was true, Naruto knew that it was also because being outside the village made him an easier target for the Akatsuki and he wouldn't want to put Tazuna and his family in danger. Seeing as it was his last night with everyone, Naruto was taking his time eating, which for him is very unusual, so as to soak it all in.

Just as dinner was winding down inside the house, outside, five shadowy figures surround the house. Four of them take each side of they house, so ask to cut off their targets escape routes, while the fifth one casually walks to front door and nocks. Waiting for a few seconds, the one at the door hears footsteps approaching and the doorknob turn, just as door opens an older male voice yells out, "Naruto! Don't open that door!", but it's too late.

As the figure's shadow consumes Naruto, he utters out, "You're-"...

Three weeks ago in Konoha, at the Hokage Residence, inside the Hokage's office, is a fair-skinned woman with brown eyes and straight blonde hair that parts above her forehead, revealing a violet diamond mark. Her hair has shoulder-length bangs that frame her face and the rest is tied in two loose ponytails. She has a curvaceous frame with above average height and noticeably large breasts, she is in fact widely regarded as the most beautiful kunoichi in the world. She is wearing a grass green haori with the kanji for "gamble" on the back, inside a red circle, a grey kimono style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants, the blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage. She wears open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels and has red nail polish on both her fingernails and toenails and uses a soft pink lipstick. This woman is Tsunade Senju, the fifth and current Hokage and she is reading a report from Jiraiya about Naruto's training incident a week ago.

As she reads the report her grip on the scroll tightens and when she finishes reading it, she slams her fist into her desk, splitting in half, while yelling out, "Damn that reckless pervert! He could have killed Naruto and released the nine tails! What in Kami's name does he think he's doing? Shizune! Get in here now!"

Shizune is a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender build with onyx eyes and jet-black hair; her hair is straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frame her face. She is wearing a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, a mesh shirt underneath, and open-toed sandals with low heels. She was in the middle of filling out a requisition form for another desk when Tsunade called for her.

Rushing into the Hokage's office, Shizune quicky answers out, "Yes, Lady Tsunade! What do you need?"

Tsunade orders, "I need you and a team of Anbu to track down Naruto and Jiraiya at once!"

"May I ask why, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked, rather confused as to what's happening.

"That fool Jiraiya nearly caused the nine tailed fox to be released by playing with Naruto's seal, that's why!" Tsunade replied irritably, giving Shizune Jiraiya's report.

After fully reading the report Shizune replies, "Oh my! Are you going to have us escort them back to the village?"

Letting out a frustrated breath, Tsunade answers, "No, I want you to give Naruto a full check-up to make sure everything is ok. That coward of a fool, Jiraiya is too afraid of what I'd do to him to bring Naruto here anytime soon, so I need you to go in my stead. Besides that little brat would have a fit if I cut his training short." Despite her tuff exterior, Tsunade is very worried for Naruto, he means a lot to her.

"Ok, but we can't afford to send any Anbu to help me track them down. As you know, Konoha's forces are spread too thin as it is and we can't risk the village's safety by leaving it too shorthanded in the event of an attack." Shizune responded.

Agreeing with her protégé, Tsunade asks, "Then who can we spare that has the required skills to aide you in tracking them down?"

Thinking for a minute, Shizune answers, "I believe Team 8, lead by Kurenai, just got back from a mission a few days ago, so they can go on the mission. They have an excellent mission record for tracking and capturing their target, and seeing as they're still a genin team, we can afford to spare them. The only downside is that we'd have to come up with a cover story for why we're being sent after Naruto, seeing as everyone in that team but Kurenai is unaware of Naruto's jinchuuriki status."

Tsunade puts her chin in her hand while thinking over Shizune's offer. Finding no other alternative, Tsunade says, "Alright, inform Kurenai to assemble her team and report for duty immediately, then go prepare as well."

"Yes ma'am!" Shizune responded, turning quickly and exiting the office to fallow the Hokage's orders.

Half an hour later, Kurenai Yuhi and her three genin are standing at attention in front of the Hokage's desk, waiting to receive their mission. Kurenai is a fair-skinned woman of slender build, long black untamed hair reaching her upper back, and very unique eyes that are red in color, with an additional ring in them. She wears make-up consisting of red lipstick and purple eye shadow. Her out-fit consists of a red mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible, this very broad material which resembles bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs are also wrapped in bandages and she wears the Konoha forehead protector and regular shinobi sandals.

Standing in front of Kurenai on the right is Kiba Inuzuka, he's a thirteen year old boy with several physical animalistic traits like most of his clan, he has messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, pronounced canine teeth, and nails that he can change into claws. He also has the distinctive red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks. His attire consists of dark greyish pants reaching to his calves and a grey, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood placed on his head, over a plate of armor and fishnet undershirt, with a blue forehead protector and blue sandals. Inside his jacket is his nin-dog Akamaru, a small puppy with white fur, resembling a great Pyrenees, squinted eyes appearing closed, a brown noise, as well as brown patches on his ears and a brown outline around his mouth, and the fur on top of his head is styled to somewhat resemble a Mohawk.

Standing on Kiba's left, right in front of Kurenai, is Hinata Hyuga, a pale-skinned girl possessing, as a Hyuga, the Byakugan, giving her featureless white eyes with tinges of lavender. She has short hime-style dark blue hair, keep just above her forehead with chin-length strands framing her face. She's wearing a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, navy blue pants and keeps her forehead protector around her neck.

Standing on Hinata's left, is Shino Aburame, a fair-skinned boy and tallest member of his graduating class, has dark, bushy, brown hair and dark round glasses obscuring his eyes. He is wearing a grey colored jacket with a high, upturned collar going up to his noise and brown pants. He wears a blue forehead protector and blue sandals.

While Tsunade just sits there, leaning forward with her elbows on the desk and her fingers laced together in front of her face, Kurenai can't help but wonder what's so urgent that she'd receive an emergency summons, demanding she gather her team and immediately report to the Hokage's office. It had better be important to have interrupted one of her rare dates with Asuma, With how they are trying to keep it secret, it has been difficult to find the time to go on any dates without being caught. Sure it'd be easier if they would just be open about it, but right now she just wants it to be between the two of them and not some rumor filled gossip being spread all over Konoha.

You'd think that in a village full of shinobi people would be more closeted, but no, everyone wants to be in everyone else's business. At least just their private lives, everyone knows better than to try and stick their noises in official business, that can cost you your life in a shinobi village. Kurenai was brought out of her thoughts by Shizune entering the room and standing by her, waiting for the Hokage to speak.

Once Shizune enters the office, now wearing the standard Konoha uniform with distinct extra-long sleeves, Tsunade decides to give team 8 their mission, "Alright, now that everyone is here, I can now give you the details of your mission. We've received a report from Jiraiya that a week ago, Naruto Uzumaki was critically injured during a training accident, he's supposedly fine now, but Jiraiya refuses to bring him back to village to prove it and is most likely on the run. For that reason you'll be tracking them down while escorting Shizune to Naruto, so he can get a proper medical examination."

Kurenai, not understanding why this mission was so urgent, asks, "Lady Hokage, why is it so important that you have Naruto examined? I highly doubt that Jiraiya would lie about Naruto's condition, so if he's alive and well, why send us to go to his aide?", two of her genin thinking the same thing, while Hinata isn't able to get past Naruto-kun being badly hurt, concern clearly written on her face.

Letting out a sigh, having expected those lines of questions, Tsunade answers, "Because the accident involved Jiraiya stupidly messing with a certain dangerous SEAL that nearly killed him as well, and could have other long lasting effects that ordinary doctors will miss."

Glad to see Kurenai's eyes widen in shock, signifying her understanding at the underlining meaning of the nine tails seal being tampered with, Tsunade simply adds, "I hope you now know the importance for this S-rank mission! To be honest, I'd rather send a team of Anbu, but you all know we're simply too short handed to spare them right now, so you'll have to do. Here's a copy of the report and their last known location, now get going, I wont ask again!" handing Kurenai a scroll with a firm stare.

"Yes Lady Hokage! We'll head out immediately!", Kurenai says after taking the offered scroll, cutting off Kiba's attempt to ask what Tsunade meant, ushering her team out of the room with Shizune fallowing after them.

As they were running out of the village at top speed, Kiba yelled out to his sensei, "Hey! Kurenai sensei! What was all that about? What kind of seal could be so dangerous that we're suddenly rushing off on our first S-rank mission!" Akamaru barking in agreement with his master, Shino merely nodding his head, and Hinata looking at Kurenai with a mixture of determination and concern, determined to go help the boy she loves and concern with his safety.

Having to carefully script her words so as to not give away Naruto's secret, Kurenai takes a minute to answer, "What you all need to understand is that sealing jutsu is an obscure art and can be very dangerous and for a master of the art to nearly kill himself messing with one, then Naruto must be in even worse shape than Lord Jiraiya. I honestly can't figure out what Lord Jiraiya was thinking in training Naruto with such a seal, I'm surprised he isn't dead or worse!"

Hinata is the one to speak-up now, in a frightened tone, "D-de-dead! Naruto-kun co-c-could be dead?"

"No Hinata. If he was dead your team wouldn't be on this mission. To be honest, if Naruto was dead Lady Tsunade would have rushed off to kill Lord Jiraiya.", answered a serious Shizine.

Shino chimes in by asking in his usual calm tone of voice, "Then what could be worse than that?"

Shizune answers, "Well for one, his chakra network could be sealed off or even destroyed, preventing him from using his chakra. Then their is even the possibility of him being sealed away in another dimension, to never return. The possibilities are almost endless, but non of them are good."

"Well, shit! That's not good, but that doesn't explain why it's a S-rank mission. I mean sure the possible damage Naruto received is as bad as it gets, but doesn't that mean the danger's past?" asked Kiba.

Kurenai is the one to answer, "Yes Kiba, the danger of this mission is low, but remember we're tracking Lord Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin. A shinobi of his caliber usually isn't found unless they want to be, so we're rushing off to quickly pick up his trail before it goes cold. He already has a one week lead on us, so hurry up and stop slowing us down with questions!"

Kurenai's hoping they stop looking too close at the situation, after all it's still illegal for anyone to talk about Naruto's connection to the nine tailed fox.

While Kiba, having come from a clan that specializes in tracking, is aware of how bad a disadvantage they're in, being a week behind their target. Add in the skills of a sannin, which are known by just about every shinobi in the world, their chances aren't looking good. So he simply shuts up and fallows his sensei, hoping to make it in time to pick up any trail.

All the while, Shino is focused on collecting all the information he needs to complete the mission, while secretly wondering what his superiors are hiding about Naruto.

Hinata on the other hand, is only concerned with finding and helping Naruto, she has already known that most of the adults in the village have been keeping secrets about him and one day she'll find out what they are, but right now she is too worried to care.

Shizune is just hoping that Tsunade is just over reacting and Naruto is just fine, she'd hate to see the boy, who saved her master from her own demons, hurt. With all of those thoughts on their minds, they pass through Konoha's gates and to the scene of Naruto's accident.

After two weeks of near constant high-speed travel, only stopping every few days to rest, team 8 and Shizune arrived at the clearing Naruto rampaged in. The devastation they saw was shocking, leaving the three genin wandering what could have caused it, while the two adult kunoichi are only wandering how Jiraiya was able to suppress the nine tails. With Kiba and Akamaru not being able to pick up any scent, they went into the nearby town to ask around about Naruto and Jiraiya. They lucked out that almost everyone in the hospital heard the argument Jiraiya had with Naruto, so they now knew that their targets left for Nami a week ago.

Arriving at The Great Naruto Bridge leading into Nami, a week later, they had to listen to Kiba bitch about how Naruto already had shit named after him. Fortunately, it was easy to get information on Naruto once they got into Nami, apparently Naruto had destroyed a local crime organization two weeks ago, freeing several small towns from their rule. Not to mention how team 7 had saved all of Nami from Gato two years ago, that continued to piss off Kiba as Naruto was constantly being referred to as Nami's hero.

While that brings a blush to Hinata's face, she was happy that there are people who really admire Naruto, like she does, and a little jealous that some of the girls there are openly crushing on him. What right did they have to her Naruto-kun? They weren't there when he was alone, hurting, crying out for people to just recognize him! She was the one who-. That's when she realizes that she wasn't there for him either, just watching him suffer and persevere on his own, never reaching out to ease his pain. The way she saw it, she was worse than them, they didn't know, but she did and still did nothing to help him! All because of her own cowardice! Sure she could hide behind the fact that he was in love with Sakura, but she still could have been a friend for him back when he had none. She can't even hide behind her parents, saying that they told her to stay away from him, her mother was dead and her father stopped caring what she did after he chose Hanabi to be his heir. After thinking about all of that, Hinata decides that the only way to make it right is to tell Naruto everything and hope he forgives her, and maybe be willing to at least still be friends.

Having got the location for Tazuna's house, where they heard Naruto was staying, they got there by nightfall, scouting out the area, making sure that they're not walking into a trap. This is where they decided to split up and surround the house, while Shizine approached by the front and nocked on the door, just incase Jiraiya tires to flee with Naruto.

After answering the door, missing Jiraiya's warning, Naruto sees Shizune standing there with a smile on her face, and utters out in surprise, "You're, Shizune-nee-chan!", happily yelling out, "What are you doing here?! It's so good to see you!"

Glad to see Naruto fine, though slightly bruised, Shizune joyously answers, "To see you of course. After Lady Tsunade got Jiraiya's report, she sent me after you to give you a full medical check-up."

Jiraiya interrupts, "Yeah, then who exactly are the four shinobi surrounding this house?", suspicion clearly heard in his voice.

"They're team 8, they helped me track you down Lord Jiraiya, after all you were fast to flee and adamant about not bringing Naruto in to be examined after your guy's accident." Shizune said with a sweet voice that was full of scorn.

Jiraiya lamely explains, "Uh, well you see, we had to go get this legendary sword and ran into a crime boss and-"

Naruto interrupts by yelling out, "You're just making excuses pervy sage! You're just scared that Tsunade-baa-chan would punch you into a coma!"

"Shut up gaki! You've never been punched by her at full force! That shit hurts and I'm not in the mood to nearly die twice by her fists!" Jiraiya yelled/cried out.

Naruto asked, "Twice? What did she catch you peeking on her in the bath or something?"

Jiraiya could only look away with a blush while nervously scratching his cheek. That leads to Naruto saying with a deadpan face, "You did. Didn't you. You massively stupid, super pervert."

Jiraiya snaps back, "Yeah! Well, it was totally worth it!"

Nobody in the house could say anything in response to that very stupid statement, so they had no other choice but to pretend it never happened. Moving on, Shizune called team 8 to come out and head inside, after getting Tsunami's permission of course. Naruto greets all of his friends and introduces them to Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami, While pleasantries are exchanged between team 8 and Tazuna's family, Shizune prepares a room to give Naruto his medical examination.

Jiraiya walks up to Shizune to talk to her in private, asking "Shizune, be honest, tell me how pissed off Tsunade is?"

Without turning around from her prep work, she answers, "Well, for starters, she snapped her desk in half after reading your report. Then she called me into her office, wanting to send a squad of Anbu after you, but couldn't afford to spare them, so had to settle for a team of genin. If I was her, I'd punch you as hard I as I could and would never stop hitting you." a little heat entering her voice.

"It seems that Tsunade-hime isn't the only one who's angry with me." Jiraiya responded.

With fire in her eyes, Shizune quickly turns around and says with barely contained fury, "Of course I'm angry with you! What in the name of kami went through your head when you thought about loosening his seal?! It was barely even three months into his training and you thought he was ready to do what only four others in the history of the shinobi world did! You could have killed him and released the nine tailed fox on the world! Do you know how many people would have died if that happened?! What's wrong with you?!"

With every passing moment, Jiraiya felt smaller and smaller, just standing there and taking it until Shizune got it all off her chest.

When she was done, breathing heavily, her frustration diminished, did Jiraiya finally answer her with regret in his voice, "You're right. I tried speeding through his training and jumping ahead to a place Naruto is in no way ready to go. I promise that I won't even consider touching his seal again, unless it's to tighten it up. The only one who will know when Naruto is ready, is Naruto. I'll focus on training him right, that's why we're here actually, he's learning kenjutsu like his mother. I even having him learn elemental jutsu and calligraphy, so he can get into sealing jutsu."

"It's good to hear that you learned your lesson and you seem remorseful, but you'll still get a beaten when you see Lady Tsunade." Shizune replied.

"Damn! I have it coming to me, so I'll just have to take it like a man and hope she shows me some mercy." Jiraiya dreadfully responded.

"So, Naruto knows about his parents. Did he take it well?" Shizune asked while returning to her work.

"Yeah, he knows about them and took it kind of hard, but he jumped back fast and now even demands I teach him their jutsu. I guess he hopes that it will help him feel closer to them." Jiraiya answered with a little laugh.

That brought a smile to her face before she tells Jiraiya, "Alright I'm finished here. You can send in Naruto for his check-up."

Jiraiya just nods his head and leaves to get Naruto for Shizune, only to find Naruto missing. Apparently while he was talking to Shizune, Naruto went outside with Hinata to talk about something in private. A perverted thought entered his mind, not that shocking really, so he thinks about peeking in on them, only to be stopped by stern looks on Kurenai's and Tsunami's faces. It's a kind of look that says we'll kill you if you even try. Surrendering, he just takes a seat and waits for Naruto to return by ogling the two beauties in front of him, leading said beauties to give him a new set of killer stares.

Having noticed Hinata's more withdrawn behavior, Naruto asked her what was wrong. With a blush on her face and what looked like shame in her eyes, she asked him if they could talk in private. Which is why he now finds himself in the woods at night with an awkward Hinata, the moonlight shining down on them.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Naruto asks, "Uh Hinata, wasn't their something you wanted talk to me about?"

Being startled, Hinata stutters out, "Ano, I-I um ha-a-have t-t-to a-p-p-apologize to y-you.", she's having to force herself to get her words out. An over powering fear of her crush hating her is gripping her heart, but she can't falter now, she needs to get this out or she'll never be worthy enough for him.

Confused, Naruto asks, "Apologize? What for Hinata?"

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, Hinata clarifies, "I've watched and admired you for years, ever since you saved me from those three bullies our first year at the academy. I've gained immeasurable strength from watching you repeatedly get back up from your failures, a proud failure who never gave up. It's where I got my nindo from. Everyone in my life either called me a failure or treated me like I was made of glass, even my own father wrote me off as useless, but you were the first person who believed in me. Yet all I could do for you while you suffered alone, was to just watch you from the shadows, never reaching out to you to ease your pain. I was a coward not worthy of loving you. I'm so sorry Naruto, can you ever forgive me?" At this point Hinata is in tears and sobbing lightly.

Naruto is too taken back to respond right away, he never noticed her until the chunin exams, and even then he didn't see how much she cared about him. All he ever saw when he looked at her was a weird girl who stuttered a lot, he likes weird people, but he never even conceived that any girl liked him. He was too busy trying to get Sakura's affections to notice anyone else. It seems that pervy sage was right, he is dense when it comes to women, but that doesn't mean he's going to give up on Sakura. He'd need to talk to her first and maybe even with Hinata, just to get to know her more and see if he likes her as more than a friend. It's just all too confusing right now to even think about, let alone talk about, so he'll table that problem for now.

The part about her watching him for years in secret was kind of creepy and disheartening. Just thinking about how much it would have meant to him to have had even a single friend as a child, sure he played with Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba, but it was more like he played around them, than played with them. Shikamaru didn't seem to care one way or the other, never making fun of him, but not really trying to get to know him. Choji was always nice to him, but just seemed to live in Shikamaru's shadow, and Kiba ended up becoming one of the ones that mocked him all the time. Hell they just got into an argument over him being more famous than he his, but it's kind of like the rivalry he has with Saskue, but more friendly. To have had a friend that was concerned about him and actually cared, would have brought untold joy to his life, like when Iruka sensei said he believed in him to Mizuki-teme. Instead of being angry, he can't help but feel bad for Hinata. He couldn't imagine what he'd do if Iruka told him he was worthless like Hinata's father did to her, and he can relate to being treated as a failure.

Now looking at Hinata crying her eyes out and shaking while holding herself, Naruto grabs her by her shoulders and tells her with a gentle voice, "Hinata stop crying, please. I'm not mad at you, I promise.", removing his hands from her shoulders as she lifts her head up and wipes the tears from her eyes.

While still shaking a little and letting out a slight sob every now and again, Hinata asks, "A-a-are you 'sob' really n-not mad at me?"

Throwing on his signature grin, Naruto answers. "Of course! I wouldn't have said so if I didn't mean it. I mean sure it would have been amazing to have had a friend growing up, but I can also see why you're so shy, with your own father saying that you're useless, you probably didn't have any confidence back then. Plus, I'll admit that I kind of forgot about the whole rescuing thing.", chuckling embarrassedly while scratching the back of his head.

That brings a small smile and a blush to her face as she says, "Ano, t-thank you Naruto-kun but I-I still could have done more for you."

"Hey! stop that! It's all in the past now Hinata. Lets just focus on moving forward." Naruto said.

Having stopped crying, Hinata responds with a full smile, "Ok Naruto-kun, I'll let it go for you."

"Good! Hum, I'd like to talk to you some more to become better friends, but that's going to hard with me on the road training and you back in Konoha." Naruto said.

Hinata offers, "What about w-we exchange letters?", absolutely ecstatic that Naruto is taking an interest in her, even if it's only as friend.

"Oh yeah! Hinata you're a genus! We can exchange letters to each other by messenger toads!" Naruto happily declared. Then added, "I could keep in touch with everybody, even Sakura-chan!"

At hearing Naruto talk about writing Sakura as well, Hinata's joy fell a little, but she wasn't going to give up either, unlike her, Sakura and most other girls in their age group had crushes on Saskue, so she had better odds in her favor.

Before either one of them can keep up their conversation, Shizune yells out, "Come on back inside Naruto! It's time for your check-up!"

Gulping Naruto slowly heads inside, dragging his feet as he goes, after all he hates being poked and prodded by doctors. Hinata stifles a chuckle at Naruto's antics, he's not a afraid of fighting demon shinobi and monsters, but is scared of doctors, how could she not laugh a little.

The next day, a group of shinobi are leaving Nami, after Naruto got a clean bill of health from Shizune, and having said their goodbyes to everyone, splitting into two groups, one with five members headed back to Konoha and the other with two headed off in the opposite direction. They wouldn't be seeing each other for a little more than two years, all of the genin becoming stronger along the way.

With team 8's group, Hinata is thinking about when Naruto told them about what really happened during his training accident, how he has the nine tailed fox sealed inside him and how he meet his father, the fourth Hokage. Also asking not to tell anyone, he wanted to be the one to tell the others. Kiba simply called bullshit, that there was no way he was fourth's son, but was quieted by Kurenai, Shizune, and Jiraiya confirming it as true. Shino was just quiet, like he already knew something was up, but didn't really care anyway, Naruto was still just Naruto to him. She, to everyone's surprise, gave Naruto a hug and told him that it didn't change how she felt about him. If anything, it made her admire his strength all the more and hate herself just as much, but like Naruto told her, no more wallowing in the past, we move forward. Naruto is out there getting stronger to save a friend, while the Akatsuki are hunting him down for the monster inside of him. She has to get stronger too, so as to help protect him when they come for him, standing at his side able and ready to fight!

So thinking along those lines, Hinata asks, "Shizune-sama, I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me medical ninjutsu?"

At that sudden out burst from the normally timid Hinata, everyone stops and looks at her.

Shizune answers, "I don't see why not, but it's an extremely difficult art to master. To lean medical ninjutsu on top of both your clan training in the gentle fist and the missions you'll be taking as a member of team 8, it will take everything you have and more. Are you sure you can handle all of that?"

Kurenai adds, "She's right Hinata. It'll be harder than anything you've ever done before and you aren't obligated to try."

"I don't care how hard it'll be or how many times I fail, I wont give up! That's my nindo! I can't just sit around not giving it my all, while Naruto-kun is killing himself training, not for himself, but for his friends! How would I ever be able to call myself his friend if I did any less than him?! I'm tired of people trying to discourage me from applying myself, Kurenai sensei!" Hinata responded with heat in her voice and fire in her eyes.

Taken back by Hinata's outburst, Kurenai is stunned silent, unable do anything but smile at Hinata finally coming out of the shell that so many people, from her father, to Neji and her clan members, built around her.

Nodding to Shizune, signifying her approval of training Hinata in medical ninjutsu, Shizune simply says, "Alright than Hinata, I'll start your training when we get back, but you had better not regret it, for I wont take it easy on you!"

"Yes Shizune sensei, I'll give you my everything and I wont give up!" Hinata yells back in a strong and determined voice.

Everyone there just smiles and rush off back to Konoha, while Kiba and Shino do not plan on just standing by and letting their teammate surpass them, they'll throw themselves into their training just as hard as Hinata.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDispair

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/9/19**

Chapter 3

It's been one year, eight months and two weeks since Naruto left Nami, and now he's traveling along the boarder of Taki with Jiraiya to find the Seven Tails jinchuuriki named Fuu. Fuu is a petite, androgynous, tan-skinned kunoichi who wears an orange clip in her short, layered mint green hair that matches her orange eyes. Her outfit consists of a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Her forehead protector is worn on her right arm and she carries a cylindrical object in red wrapping on her back.

Naruto has changed quite a bit in the past near two years, his hair has grown down to his shoulders with face long bangs framing his face, similar to his fathers just a little longer. Thanks to, and with much disgust, Naruto having to eat a more balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, he now stand at 5'6 and his build is composed of highly defined and compact muscle, giving him that highly sought after V-shape. Do to his physical changes and the fact that Jiraiya's nightmare training left his old clothing torn to pieces, even the cloth of his headband had to be replaced, he had to get a new wardrobe. What he wears now is a more form fitting version of his original outfit, with mesh armor underneath, while retaining the swirls and orange pants, the blue pieces of his outfit changed to black and his forehead protector is also longer, the ends going to the middle of his shoulder blades.

The most noticeable change to his outfit are the two black six-scroll holders, with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the front of them, strapped from the front of his pants, going along the sides of his upper thighs, ending around the back, connecting above his butt cheeks. In those holsters are six scrolls each, the ones on his right are used for holding jutsu, weapons, and sealing arrays that can capture objects and jutsu. The ones on his left are blank, in the event of having to make custom seals for various problems. The holders were a gift from pervy sage, given to him upon completing his advanced sealing jutsu training, he's only recently started making headway in master sealing jutsu training.

The training Naruto went through nearly killed him, he was using up to three thousand clones per training session, allowing him to master a wide variety of jutsu, and the sparing often left him broken and bloody for the first year, but now he can go toe to toe with pervy sage at full power, not in sage mode though. He's no longer having to wear leg weights, the amount of weight the seals could add had been long since maxed out and he no longer felt them, making wearing them redundant. His top speed now is about three times what Lee's was without his weights during the chunin exams, making him as fast as Guy is outside of using the inner gates. He plans on giving his weight set to Konohamaru when he gets back home, and maybe teach him a new jutsu while he's at it.

He mastered all the wind style techniques Asuma gave him and several more, like Gale Palm, Drilling Air Bullet and Great Breakthrough, but he also found out that he has an affinity for earth chakra. Allowing him to learn all sorts of earth style techniques from pervy sage, like Dark Swamp, Mud Wall, Headhunter, Great Mud River, Rising Stone Pillars and Earth Dragon Bomb.

With his longer hair, Jiraiya taught him his hair jutsu, art of the Raging Lion Mane, Needle Jizo and Spiked Jizo, though their range is smaller and requires more chakra to use. His kenjutsu is unique, combining the kubikiribocho with shadow clones and wind chakra, and it's considered to be at the expert level by Gamatana's standards. The massive blade isn't seen on his back because he keeps it sealed in an array tattooed on his right wrist, only after he became capable of welding it with the ease of a kunai, summoning it out when needed.

With the most pride and difficulty, Naruto finally became able to use the Hiraishin, not to same degree as his father, but still at great level. To be honest the first few attempts had been disastrous, it was a good thing that pervy sage made him use clones at first. For the entire first year of trying to use it, his clones would be torn to pieces, stuck halfway inside trees, rocks, and even each other. Once, one of his clones used the Hirashin and never returned, he still has no idea what happened to it. Eventually he was able teleport to any of his strange shaped kunai with the unique seal on it, they were given to him on his birthday by pervy sage, saying they belonged to his father. He still wasn't fast enough at creating the seal for the Hiraishin, it takes him a full minute to create in combat, but he can use it with premade ones in combat. Though he still has difficulty in exiting the Hiraishin and attacking instantaneously like his father could, but it's still combat ready.

Being his usual unorthodox self, he decided to put the Hiraishin seal on the kubikiribocho, not just to teleport to it, but to teleport it back to him. Again it was a good thing he used clones at first, for it didn't work at first, but by streaming wind chakra through it he was able to teleport it to him, spearing the clones most of the time. Like most things he tries, he eventually got it to work the way he wanted it to. All in all, the training from hell was worth it!

For nearly the past two years, Naruto has been passing messages with all of his friends through toads, allowing him to tell them all about him being a jinchuuriki and about his parents, as well as keeping up on their lives. Kiba liked to rub in that Naruto was now the only one amongst them that was still a genin, besides Choji, Ino, and Sakura, but seeing as they are entered the joint chunin exams being held in Konoha and Suna, they most likely are chunin now. He even went into how Neji, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro even went one step further and became Jonin.

Shino tends to give him encyclopedic knowledge on insects and asking him if he has ran into any rare species of insects.

Choji keeps bringing up the meals Naruto will end up buying him and all of the new foods he has eaten.

Shikamaru rarely writes because it's troublesome and when he does it's always about how troublesome his life is.

Ino goes off on all the gossip happing in Konoha and if he'll end up looking as good as the Fourth Hokage, apparently Ino had a crush on the picture his father back in the academy days before Sasuke.

Tenten keeps asking for more pictures of the kubikiribocho and complaining how unfair it is that he has one of the legendary swords of Kiri.

Lee is constantly trying to one up him on their taijutsu training and going on about springtime of youth.

Neji doesn't write much with how busy he is a new Jonin, and Kakashi has told him stories about his father and mother.

Iruka has told him how he has been going on dates with Shizune whenever they have the time, he thinks she might be the one.

Sakura-chan wrote about her hellish training under Lady Tsunade, from all the complex medical jutsu, to the painful taijutsu training that involved dodging full powered punches from Tsunade. She goes into all of the details of her life, like shopping with Ino, pulling a shift at the hospital, and even the time she cried her eyes at out losing a six year old kid to cancer. He has never been closer to Sakura-chan than he is now, perhaps because he isn't there pestering her for a date and is just talking like friends.

With Hinata, they've been writing about their hectic training schedules that take them in many different directions, like how she comes off a mission to go straight into her clan's taijutsu training with Neji, Hanabi, or her father, then having to rush off late at night to train under Shizune in medical ninjutsu. Then once she was good enough at medical ninjutsu, which only happened a few months ago, she had to start taking shifts at the hospital with Sakura and Ino. He had to console her when she lost her first patient, a young shinobi around their age who died from multiple fatal injuries, received on a mission gone horribly wrong. It was harder on her because she couldn't help seeing Naruto in the same condition and being unable save to him. It took a lot of promises that he wouldn't die and would come to see her as soon as he got back, to get her to stop worrying.

Just like with Sakura, he has gotten a lot closer to Hinata, mostly because he finally noticed her. Naruto honestly doesn't know what to do with how he still loves Sakura and now is starting to have feelings for Hinata. Sometimes he wishes he hadn't started getting to know Hinata, it's caused such conflicting emotions, he was even having an equal amount of wet dreams about Hinata as Sakura now and sometimes the both of them at once. He made the kami-awful mistake of asking pervy sage for advice, he told him that a three-way with the both of them would make great material in his biography, that he wanted pervy sage to write when he became Hokage. After Naruto's yelling and the perverted laughing by Jiraiya, did he give him the advice to have a serious conversation with them both about his feelings, and which ever one returns those feelings is his answer. The problem with that advice is that Sakura might punch him into the next life, while he knows that Hinata would most likely return his feelings and both kind of scare him, he could end up losing his friendship with one or both of them. Jiraiya merely stated that if he's too afraid to risk his friendship with either one than he'll get neither one, no one has ever fallen in love without been a little brave. That gave him a lot to think about, but he's still on the fence on what to do. He will probably just end up wing it.

As Naruto and Jiraiya continue their journey along Taki to find Fuu, who they learned from Taki's leader Shibuki, has been sold out to the Akatsuki by his own village council, they run across a resent battle field. There are small craters here and there, kunai and shuriken are littered everywhere, a strange symbol inside of a circle was on the ground, and the smell of blood still hangs in the air from the two dead Taki-nin. The scene seemed to suggest that a Taki team was ambushed, that couldn't have happened more than a few hours ago, afraid that they are too late to save Fuu. Naruto finds a torn piece of black clothing with red clouds on it, confirming that it was the Akatsuki, he runs off after them, following their trail away from Taki.

Jiraiya yells out, "Naruto you idiot! Don't go running into the enemy's hands without knowing what you're dealing with!", quickly chasing after Naruto.

As Naruto was following the overly obvious and slow paced trail, he was thinking about how this was exactly what he feared would happen when all of the hidden villages refused to let him give their jinchuuriki a Hiraishin seal, so he could instantly come to their rescue, but they were all too paranoid to let him. Hell, Iwagakure even sent assassins after him, once hearing he could use the same jutsu as the Yellow Flash of Konoha, it was great practice for using his ninjutsu at least, and they stopped sending their shinobi after he and pervy sage beat the crap out of them, leaving them hog tied with a note saying, "Next time we slit their throats!".

Plus, once Tsunade heard about the attempts on his life by Iwa-shinobi, she sent a letter of aggression to the Tsuchikage, warning him continued attack on Konoha's jinchuuriki would be considered an act of war, causing him to resend the kill order. Jiraiya had warned him that would happen if he told the other Kages about his ability to use the Hiraishin, but he didn't care, he just wanted to keep others burdened with a Bijjuu like him safe from a common enemy. In the end only Gaara and Suna agreed to Naruto's proposal, but with the stipulation that he add a off switch to the seal, so he will only be aloud to use it when they wanted him to. Gaara would be able to activate it himself in an emergency, but the Suna council has a seal tag they can use to counter it, not fully trusting Naruto and maybe even Gaara. At least Taki's leader has told them about Fuu being in trouble and has sent them to help her, but he's not to sure what to make of her villages council selling her out.

While Naruto was lost in thought, Jiraiya was intensely studying the trail they are following, it's too slow paced and without any traces of them trying to cover their tracks. There is a very clear trail of blood and their foot prints are almost perfectly visible, as if the two sets of foot prints were walking. If they had really stolen Taki's jinchuuriki then they'd be moving away from Taki at a much faster rate, then their was the battle field, only showing signs of one verse two and their is no way any village would let their jinchuuriki get that close to the boarder without a protective detail.

The only options that would lead to these events would be : One, her team was caught of guard and killed leaving her to fend for her self. Two, she was caught by the Akatsuki while sneaking out of her village with the other two chasing after her. Lastly, she was handed to the Akatsuki by her village as an exchange, sacrificing her and her team. The last one tends to make the most sense unfortunately, it's the only way to explain why even after getting into a heated battle with their target and killing two Taki-nin, they're just leaving in a casual manner, meaning they are not expecting anyone to come after her. Plus with the secretive way Shibuki passed along that message with a sealed scroll for Fuu, there can be no other option. There is no way in hell he'll hand her back to Taki, if they can save her in time from what he believes they are doing to her, extracting her Bijuu!

Having caught up with Naruto, Jiraiya says, "Naruto we need to hurry, but not so fast that we end up getting caught in a trap! Now slow down and listen to me!"

Naruto snaps back, "We don't have time to slow down! If we don't hurry this Fuu girl will die!", Naruto remembered the names of the jinchuuriki Jiraiya knew, Fuu, Gaara, and Killer Bee from Kumo, and what pervy sage thinks the Akatsuki will do to the Jinchuuriki once they have them, being told that extracting a Bijuu is lethal to the host.

Jiraiya responds, "Yes, but the time it takes to extract a Bijuu can take days. We're not only lucky that we found their battle sight still fresh, but that they are moving slowly, not expecting anyone to rescue their hostage. So we can get the jump on them before they can finish or even start."

Confused, Naruto asks, "Why wouldn't they expect a rescue team from Taki?"

Jiraiya answers, fearing how angry Naruto will get, "That's because I believe that Taki handed her over to the Akatsuki in exchange for either their village's safety, or a large amount of money and future protection from them. I can't be really sure until I put out some feelers, but that's the only way I can make any sense of this situation."

"What! What kind of cowardly assholes would sacrifice one of their own like that!? Is it just ok because she's a jinchuuriki and her life just doesn't mean as much!? The fucking bastard-ass pieces of shit!" Naruto roared out in pure fury.

"Look Naruto, I said I can't prove it yet, but if it's true than we'll take her to Konoha, away from both the Akatsuki and Taki." Jiraiya said trying to reel in Naruto's anger.

"But wont that cause problems for us if Taki demands we return her to them?" Naruto asked, still angry but more controlled.

"Only if they didn't sell her out to the Akatsuki. If they did, they lost all claim to her and we have no responsibility in returning her to them, in the end it'll be up to her. This all pointless if we fail to save her, so lets table this discussion until then." Jiraiya answered.

Refocusing on saving Fuu, Naruto pushes his anger aside and falls into pace with Jiraiya. Unnoticed by the both of them, half a plant looking man is watching them follow his team member's trail, sending the image to his other half in side a cave, standing on one of the Gedo Statue's fingers aiding in sealing the seven tails. Just like six of the others, he's only there in a simmering holographic state, with only two of them actually being there.

Speaking up the plant-man says in a dark and chilling voice, "It seems Hidan and Kakuzu were followed here."

Kakuzu calmly asks, "Really? I thought Taki took our deal to hand over their jinchuuriki in exchange for us not destroying them? Have they betrayed us?"

Hidan yells out, "If they did then Lord Jashin will bathe in their blood!"

The shimmering image with purple eyes that has a ripple pattern spread over them, asks, "Zetzu, who are the interlopers?"

The now identified Zetzu answers, "The nine tails jinchuuriki and Jiraiya of the sannin."

"Well shit! The nine tails isn't a problem, but the likes of Jiraiya is a big problem." replied a tall spiky haired image with a large wrapped sword on his back said.

"That's a problem alright, we've only just started sealing the seven tails and it'll take at least three days to finish. The most we can stall with a barrier and sending someone out there with that jutsu, is maybe a day, a day and a half at the most.", the apparent leader with the weird eyes said.

"It's all Hidan's fault with his overly long ritual." Kakuzu states.

"How many time must I tell you that Jashin's rituals can't be skipped, to do so is blasphemy, and for all we know it's your fault!", snaps back Hidan.

"Perhaps you're both just incompetent fools. Hmm. Not all that surprising seeing as you both lack artistry. Hmm.", an amused voice said.

"Shut up Deidara! Like you know what real art is.", an annoyed deep voice said.

"Of course I know what real art is Sasori my man. Hmm. Art is an explosion! Hmm.", the now identified Deidara answered.

Sasori replies, "No. Art is eternal!"

"Enough! No matter who is to blame, it wont solve our current problem." Their leader commands.

Zetzu offers up, "Perhaps we can try using your Rinnegan to split the seven tails chakra in Ying and Yang, taking only the Ying half. It'd be twice as fast and it'll allow us to have a complete version of the Seven Tails, it's what the Fourth Hokage did with the Nine Tails, so it should work."

Their leader asks, "Won't it cause us problems if we only have half of the Seven Tails?"

Zetzu answers, "No, the Nine Tails has shown to have it's full power when it was nearly released nearly two years ago, so as long it's a complete version of the Seven Tails it should gain it's full strength in time. Then if we kill its current host the other half should reform sometime with the half we sealed inside the Gedo Statue."

After a moment of silent contemplation, the leader responds, "Alright, I'll split the Seven Tails chakra into Ying and Yang, then we'll focus on pulling out the Ying half. That should only take about a day and a half, giving us enough time to extract the Seven Tails. Then once we're done Hidan and Kakuzu will kill it's jinchuuriki and escape, if you find the opportunity to capture the Nine Tails in the process, then do, but don't try fighting Jiraiya, you'll not be able to win so soon after having sealed a Bijuu."

Kakuzu responds, "Fine, but who should we send to stall our guests?"

The other half of Zetzu, in a lighter tone than it's darker half suggests, "Kisame should go, seeing as he has the most chakra amongst us."

"Hee hee, sure sounds like it'll be fun, plus I owe that old sage for nearly killing me with a wall of flesh." Kisame answered

"Fine. Now go and buy as much time as you can." Their leader orders while his eyes glow and he goes through a series of hand signs, causing Fuu to shake violently, before the chakra leaving her mouth into the Gedo's mouth changes to a darker color, but leaving at a faster rate.

It takes Jiraiya and Naruto a half day of follow the tracks, moving slowly on the off chance it's a trap, before being suddenly attacked by exploding water sharks, forcing Naruto and Jiraiya to slit up. As Jiraiya is still dodging water sharks, Naruto his surprised by a large wrapped blade coming out of the ground like a shark's fin behind him, threating to slam into him. Quickly he turns around while unsealing the kubikiribcho from his wrist, grabbing his blade and tightening stance, he blocks the incoming slash. As he's being push back by his larger opponent, he grips the ground with his chakra and starts putting all of his strength into his arms, bringing them both to a stop, swords still clashing, and gets a good look at who's attacking him. A pale blue skinned man with six black marking on his face that appear to be gills, and razor sharp teeth, he's wearing the Akatsuki black robe with red cloud markings all over it, and a head band with the Kiri symbol, with a scratch going through it.

Naruto squints his eyes in thought for a moment, before yelling out, "Hey! You're that fish guy that was traveling with Itachi!"

Kisame gets a tick mark on his head as he puts more force into his blade and responds, "Yeah and you're that little Nine Tails brat who had to be saved from me."

The added force from Kisame, has Naruto jump back and release a new attack of his, by channeling massive amounts of wind chakra along the edge of his sword, then compressing it, he releases it with a downward swing of the kubikiribocho into a large crescent wind slash.

As his wind slash tears through the ground, heading straight for Kisame, Naruto yells out, "Yeah! That was then! And now I can kick your ass all on my own!"

In response to Naruto's impressive attack, Kisame merely laughs while slashing through Naruto's slash, completely destroying it, says, "Really. If that's all you got, then you might want to go get that toad sage to help you, otherwise it'll be your ass getting shredded by my Samehada!"

Shocked that one of his strongest kenjustu techniques was batted away like it was nothing, Naruto looks closer at Samehada, to see it moving under it's wrapping, making chewing noises. Then he remembers that it eats chakra, so all chakra based attacks are useless against him. Damn! His kenjutsu his not strong enough to beat a kenjutsu master like Kisame, so he'll have to create an opening to hit him with a powerful justu when he's not holding Samhada if he wants to win. He creates three shadow clones and takes out one of the scrolls from his right holder, throwing it into the air while unfurling it, causing dozens of tri-pointed kunai with Hiraishin seals on them, to shoot out of it, surrounding the area in them.

"Well don't count me out yet!", Naruto shouted out while charging Kisame.

"He-hehehe, you sound cocky for someone who's pathetic attempt at hitting me with kunai failed to even touch me." Kisame mocked while raising his blade to block Naruto's basic downward sword strike, planning to counter with a kick to his sternum.

Once Naruto's strike lands, slightly buckling Kisame's knees, one of Naruto's clones comes slamming in with a kick to the back of the kubikiribcho, having been catapulted by the other two clones that had jumped in the air. The added force of the clones full body kick causes Kisame to quickly side-step away as Naruto's blade splits open the ground.

Kisame charges at Naruto's open side, a rookie mistake, but before his Samehada can slam into Naruto, he disappears in an orange flash. Reappearing behind Kisame in an instant, but unfortunately Naruto stumbles a bit before he takes a forward side-slash.

Only to be batted away by Kisame, who only had time to react due to Naruto's stumble, but before Kisame can reengage, Naruto teleports again in an orange flash.

For the next few minutes, all that can be seen is a series of orange flashes and Kisame blocking, batting away or counter attacking Naruto's random attacks. Having now figured out that the kunai around him are anchor points for Naruto's Hiraishin, which is surprising that the kid can use it in the first place, despite his obvious flaw in using it, Kisame makes a made dash out of the field of kunai.

Only he is stopped by Naruto appearing in front of him with another downward slice, but this time it's coated in wind chakra, forcing him to block it with his Samehada, that'll devour the dangerous chakra. Taking the opportunity of having their blade crossed, Kisame alters his body weight and sword angle to allow him to redirect Naruto's blade forward and into the ground, while simultaneously reaching out and grabbing the kubikiribcho's handle with his right hand and kicking Naruto off it with his right leg.

As Naruto goes flying backwards, Kisame stabs the kubikiribocho into the ground and puts his Samehada on his back, then blurs through hand signs, "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave", Kisame shouts out, causing a large explosion of water to wash away all of Naruto's kunai and slamming into him as he crashes into a tree, flooding the area in water.

"Not bad brat, but your kenjutsu is nowhere near mine! The Hiraishin caught me by surprise, it's not a jutsu seen since the Yellow Flash of Konoha! It's just too bad that you're not nearly as skilled as he was in using it! Plus, you wasted your only shot by trying to best me in kenjutsu!" Kisame laughs out victoriously.

Kisame's laughter is cut short by Naruto teleporting right in front of him, slamming a giant rasengan into his chest. Blood spurts out for his mouth and the ground around them breaks as he is repelled off his feet into nearby trees, only stopping after smashing through about twenty of them.

What Kisame failed to realize, is that Naruto knew he couldn't beat him in kenjutsu and that his Hiraishin is still flawed, so he let him take the kubikiribocho, that he had a Hiraishin mark hidden inside the removable part of it's handle, knowing that he'd then get ride of, or get away from his kunai field. Then while Kisame's guard was down from is supposed victory, Naruto used the Hiraishin mark on his blade to land a massive blow that couldn't be blocked by Kisame's annoying chakra eating blade, and had a large enough attack radius that he could hit him without aiming. In short, it was all a set-up to get Kisame to put away his Samehada. Naruto might not be the smartest kunai around, but no one thinks faster on their feet than him.

Picking up his sword and placing it on his shoulders, Naruto yells out, "Did you enjoy the show pervy sage?!"

Having easily dealt with the water clones launching exploding sharks at him, Jiraiya decided to watch Naruto's fight and gauge his progress. With Naruto's fight clearly finished, Jiraiya lands next to Naruto and says, "Yup! You've really improved Gaki. I'm proud of you, but lets hold off on the victory party until we've confirmed he has been dealt with and rescue the girl."

"Yeah, you got a point pervy sage. Lets go!" Naruto responded.

When they both arrive at Kisame's blood filled landing spot, they're shocked to find some non-descript individual lying dead in Kisame's place, same injuries and clothes, no sword though.

Naruto asks out, "Did he use some kind of human substitution? Or maybe this guy was just transformed into the shark guy?"

Jiraiya takes a minute before answering, "I don't think so. I didn't see him use any substitution techniques in your battle and transformation techniques aren't that durable. It has to be some kind of forbidden transfer jutsu, the attacks he used and even his kenjutsu form were too perfect to be some mere stand-in."

An even more confused Naruto asks, "Then was the shark guy even here in the first place?"

An unsure Jiraiya answers, "I can't be sure, but I don't think so. This was most likely just a stalling tactic to slow us down, we must be too close for their comfort. So for now we need to focus on finding where they're extracting the Seven Tails."

With that in mind, Naruto seals the kubikiribocho back up in his wrist, while Jiraiya seals up the body of Kisame's doppelganger for Tsunade to examine later and maybe get an explanation on how he's a doppelganger. They then continue picking up the trail they were following, but to their dismay they find it mostly gone! It appears that someone was destroying the trail while they were occupied by Kisame's copy. Fortunately there are still some traces of it, who ever was responsible for clean up must of not had enough time to do a complete job.

Thanks to the distraction, the mostly destroyed trail, and having to move with even more caution, it took them another half day to get to a cave blocked off by a boulder, but that only means the Akatsuki had a day to extract the Seven Tails, and that's not nearly enough time, so they are not too late. The bad news is that the boulder has a five-seal barrier placed on it, so they now have to find four other seal tags in the area and remove them, which they will most likely be booby-trapped, before they can remove the fifth seal tag on boulder, allowing them access to the cave.

Even with Naruto flooding the area in shadow clones to search, it took them nearly five hours to find all of the seals. Then another six hours to defeat the doppelgangers themselves, clones were unable to remove them and they had to go themselves. Then they had to make it back to the cave, where they rested for an hour to regain their lost chakra, in total they ended up wasting another twelve hours. Now being able to remove the last seal tag, Naruto has a clone remove the last tag while Jiraiya creates a giant rasengan to smash through the boulder.

Inside the cave with the Akatskui, the sealing of the Seven Tails Ying chakra just finished at the same moment Naruto and Jiraiya removed the last seal tag. As the other members of the Akatskui simmered out and Fuu is released from the chakra holding her up, falling to the ground, the leader tells Hidan and Kakuzu that they know what to do before disappearing along with the Gedo statue in a puff of smoke.

Just as the Gedo statue is gone, an explosion erupts from the entrance of the cave, covering it in dust and debris. When the dust cloud clears, Jiraiya can see two men dressed in classic Akatsuki attire. One has medium-length grey hair that's slicked back and distinctive purple eyes, has on dark green nail polish, his Yugakure forehead protector around his neck and Jashin amulet, he's not wearing a shirt under his cloak, has on grey pants with matching shinobi sandals and a triple-bladed scythe on his back. The second one is a very tall tan-skinned man with unusual eyes: green irises, no pupils and red sclerae, he wears a grey hood covering his hair, a black-colored mask covering his lower face, the Takigakure forehead protector with a scratch in the middle, and grey pants with matching shinobi sandals.

The first man, Hidan, takes his scythe off his back and raises it with the intention of killing Fuu with it, says, "Alright, time to give another life to great Lord Jashin!", prepared to slam his scythe down on the unconscious Fuu, ending her life.

"Earth Style: Raising Stone Pillars" Naruto's muffled voice rings out, a series of sharpened stone pillars pierce through Hidan's entire body, stopping him from killing Fuu, while Kakuzu merely jumps out of the way.

Kakuzu looks at where Fuu is, only to see a empty hole in her place, irritably saying, "It seems someone has taken off with the jinchuuriki, I'll kill you Hidan!"

Surprising Jiraiya, Hidan responds unaffected by what should be mortal injuries, "Shut up Kakuzu! I wish I could die and you act as if it's my fault the jinchuuriki got stolen!"

"It is your fault! You should have just killed the girl right away than prattle on about an offering to a stupid kami!", Kakuzu snapped back while smashing Hidan free of the pillars with a black coated arm.

"Ouch! Be gentle! It fucking hurts when you do that! You should respect others pain and don't speak such blasphemy!" Hidan fired back.

"Just shut up and go after the jinchuuriki while I hold off the sannin! And remember not to kill the boy, we still need his Bijuu!" Kakuzu ordered.

Hidan merely gives him the finger while jumping through the opening in the cave. Jiraiya tries to intervene, but is stopped by a darkened fist smashing into the ground in front of his path, the appendage is connected by a bunch of black tendrils leading back to Kakuzu's arm.

Turning to face his opponent, Jiraiya says, "Well that's a creepy look you got there. Are you going for monster reject or stitched together reanimated corpse?"

Hidan merely chuckles while taking off his cloak and shedding what looks to be two masked black tendril monsters, they then fuse together and open their mouths releasing a fire and wind combined attack that consumes the cave in flames.

Naruto is running through the trees with an unconscious Fuu in his arms, when he is suddenly surprised by a huge explosion of fire going off back at the cave with pervy sage. He's concerned for his master but he knows he can handle it, and besides, the plan is for him to get away with Fuu while pervy sage keeps the Akatsuki busy. Jiraiya will escape once he's far enough away that he can't be followed.

Naruto is interrupted by a three bladed scythe nearly cutting him in half, as he dodges at the last second by leaping to the ground. Looking up he sees Hidan looking at him with a crazed sneer on his face and the scythe on his shoulders, surprised the nut is still alive after taking his jutsu, he could still see the holes in his body.

"Did you really think you could escape from Jashin's divine judgement!" Hidan laughed out.

Naruto responds by simply creating a clone to hold Fuu while he unseals the kubikiribocho and takes a stance, then says, "I don't care about any kind of kami's judgement, but if you want her you'll have to get through me first!"

Hidan starts laughing hysterically before yelling out, "All perish before the will of Lord Jashin!", he then launches forward with his scythe held above his head by both hands, hell-bent on killing his prey, but he bypasses Naruto and goes straight for his clone holding Fuu! "Her blood will be the first tribute to Lord Jashin!"

CLANK! The sound of metal clashing as Naruto used the Harishin mark he put on Fuu while fleeing with her earlier, to intercept Hidan's attack with his blade.

After pushing Hidan back, Naruto yells out, "What the hell! Why are going after someone who can't fight back!? I'm your opponent not her!"

Hidan just starts laughing hysterically again, but even louder than before. Lifting his scythe up to his mouth, where one of his three blades have some blood on it, Hidan then licks the blood, while making a triangle inside of a circle with his own blood and says, "I have cursed you and the ritual shall now began!" His skin has turned pitch black with white outlines appearing as a skeleton over his body. "GWA-HA HA HA HA HA! All the preparations are done!" Hidan added.

Naruto stands there with a sweat-drop going down his head and blood coming from a cut on his cheek, replies, "Whatever you say weirdo, but you can't beat me no matter how crazy you are!"

Naruto charges Hidan with his blade drawn to the side, only to fall to the ground in pain as Hidan pulls out a stake and stabs his own right leg. Naruto looks at his right leg from the ground to see it bleeding in the same spot Hidan stabbed himself!

"Do you now understand Jashin's punishment?!" Hidan screams out in a sick kind of joy, while stabbing himself in the gut over and over again, avoiding any vitals and vigorously wiggles the stake around, causing Naruto to roar out in agony.

Hidan is lost in twisted pleasure of hearing Naruto scream out in pain, thinking about how once he gets his current victim to pass out from pain, they do still need him alive, he'll get to experience the ultimate pain with the girl. To him their no greater pleasure than feeling the pain of someone else's death.

So lost in his twisted pleasures, Hidan fails to see Naruto go through a series of hand signs, "Art of the Raging Lion's Mane" to grab Hidan and stop him from causing anymore harm to his body. As the lion shaped hair catches Hidan by surprise lifting him back off his feet into the air, outside his circle on the ground, Naruto feels the impact of his own attack and as it feels like he's being wrapped in tight steel wire, the pain suddenly stops.

Looking at a cursing Hidan in his grasp, then the circle and back at Hidan, Naruto realizes that whatever jutsu was hurting him ended because Hidan was out of the stupid circle on the ground. With the curse ended the Nine Tails chakra quickly gets to work healing Naruto's body. Testing to see if he is no longer in danger, Naruto throws a shuriken at Hidan, cutting his ear, when nothing happens to him, Naruto then crushes and pierce Hidan's body with his chakra infused hair.

Hidan screams in pain as all of his bone are shattered and all of his muscles are torn, organs and flesh punctured, then Hidan yells out in a mocking tone, "Haven't you realized that I'm immortal yet you fool! I'm blessed by the great Lord Jashin and he'll punish you for interrupting my ritual to him!"

Seeing that the crazed lunatic really is immortal, Naruto comes up with a good, yet horrendous, idea. Shifting his hair to hold Hidan's left arm, then to Hidan's right arm, then down to take his legs, then pulls with all his might. Screams of pain come from Hidan as his flesh can be heard tearing apart, and with one last horrid scream his limbs are torn off from his torso, which falls to the ground with a thump. Hidan's removed limbs are dropped to the ground near his torso as Naruto's hair recedes back to it's original size and shape.

With a smirk, Naruto says, "Yeah, well you might not be able to die, but as a pile of pieces you want be doing anything. Now will you stumpy?"

Hidan yells back, "It doesn't matter! All I need is my teeth to chew out your throat! No matter how long it takes I will kill you!"

While grabbing the kubikiribocho off the ground, Naruto casually walks over to Hidan's torso and says, "I suppose you have a point, so I'll have to take care of that as well.", lifting his blade up, he then brings it down, cutting off Hidan's head.

"Ha-ha-ha ha ha ha! It doesn't matter what you do! I can't die! Fool!" Hidan mocks.

Scratching the side of his head as he leans on the kubikiribocho, that he stabbed into the ground, says, "I guess you're right. Hum. Oh! I know what to do! Lets see, 1,2,3...6, alright six pieces of you and six spare scrolls, that works out perfectly!" Taking out the six blank scrolls in his left holder and creating sealing scrolls out of them, he has clones gather Hidan's body parts.

Hidan asks while his head is lifted up by his hair, "Ouch! It hurts when picking me up by my hair brat! What the hell are you doing anyways?"

"Oh, I'm just going to seal up your body parts in different scrolls to make sure you can't be put back together." Naruto casually said while finishing off the sealing scrolls.

"What!? You can't do that to me you little shit! I swear I'll get free and tear you apart! You hear me! Even if it's hundreds of years from now, I'll get out and release a just vengeance on your family, village, friends, everyone you'll ever care about!" Hidan yelled out, along with a stream of curses and foul language, until his head was finally sealed away.

Putting the now sealed Hidan scrolls back in their slots, Naruto walks over to the downed Fuu, his clone having dissolved from Hidan's curse, and moves to gently scoops her up into his arms. Only to be stopped by a pair of orange eyes looking up at him, it seems Fuu had awoken at some point during his fight, if you could call it that.

Getting down on his haunches, Naruto asks, "Hey are you ok?"

Fuu cracks out a weak reply, "I-I f-feel weak, b-but otherwise I-I'm ok. W-who are y-y-you and w-why did y-you help m-me?"

With a soft smile and gentle voice, Naruto replies, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I helped you because your village leader, Shibuki, told us you were in danger and asked us to save you."

Fuu asks, "Why would y-you be w-willing to go t-through all that a-agony for me and w-why would S-Shibuki s-send y-you?"

Naruto answers while scratching the right side of his head, "So you saw the whole me being cursed thing huh. Well, how could I not endure it to save you? I mean it was just some pain, that's not as important as your life."

Suddenly getting a blush on her face, Fuu tries to hide her face with her hair. She's never had anyone but Shibuki say something like that to her and he's always been there for her like a father. While this yellow haired stranger just comes along out of nowhere and saves her from certain death and acts like it's the most natural thing in the world. She's never even had a friend before, being raised in isolation by Shibuki for her own protection, yet she just met someone who'd risk their life for her, she didn't know how to react.

Instead, while trying to avoid looking him in the eyes, responds, "T-that still d-doesn't explain w-why Shibuki w-would trust you over a T-Taki-nin to save m-me."

"I don't know all of the details but it seems like there are some traitors in your village who sold you out. Shibuki must have wanted us to help you because he knew we wouldn't hand you over to the Akatsuki." Naruto answered, unsure how she'd handle it.

"T-that can't be! Shibuki taught me that loyalty and friendship are the most important things in the world! I know I don't have any friends, but as a kunoichi of Taki they should still be loyal!", Fuu snapped at Naruto with as much strength as she could muster.

Taking on a saddened look of knowing, Naruto responds, "For most people that's very true Fuu, but jinchuuriki like us aren't always looked at as people. Some are too frightened or hate-filled to see us as anything but as the Bijuu sealed inside of us. That can lead people to do horrible things to us, while thinking they are being loyal to their village."

Tears start to fill Fuu's eyes as she knows that before Shibuki found her, she was hated by everyone to the point that they tried to kill her. She was hoping that after being taken in by Shibuki and doing great at the chunin exams, people of Taki wouldn't be afraid of her anymore and she could finally make friends, but she was wrong. They'll never see her for her, like Shibuki does, she'll always be alone.

Then it hits her, "Wait! You're a jinchuuriki too?"

Smiling again at seeing her tears stop, Naruto answers out enthusiastically, "Yup! I'm the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox, Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage! You Know!"

"So that's w-why Shibuki trusted you?" Fuu asked.

"Yeah. I sent a letter a while back asking to meet you and see if you'd let me put a Hiraishin mark on you. That way I could save you if the Akatsuki ever took you, but your village leader said he wouldn't risk your safety by allowing me to just teleport to at any moment. To be honest, just about all the villages said the same thing about how I could steal their jinchuuriki, so they all said no. Look I'd like to talk to you some more but, pervy sage is battling the other guy and I need to get you to safety first. So will you come with me?" Naruto answered.

Fuu was quiet for a minute before nodding her head silently. Naruto took that as his sign that it was ok to pick her up in his arms, Fuu became crimson when he did and looked away embarrassed.

Looking back at the direction of pervy sage's fight, Naruto whispers out, "You'd better be ok pervy sage.". Taking off with Fuu to their designated rendezvous point, hoping to see him there before having to move on to their next spot.

An hour later, back at what use to be a cave, Jiraiya is slightly battered and highly irritated at how after killing this guy three times, he still wont stay down! Apparently, each of those masks of his has it's own heart with it's own chakra network, allowing him to have all elemental affinities and for them to work autonomously from him! So it's more like a five on one fight than one on one, man did he get screwed on opponents. This Kakuzu is an old man who boasted about fighting the first Hokage, meaning he's got to be like a hundred and has a lot more experience than he does, plus the sick way he keeps alive by ripping out the hearts of his victims while they are still alive, really puts Jiraiya on edge.

Kakuzu in the meantime, is worried about being down to two hearts, that hasn't happened in a very long time! Realizing that when Pain told them to flee was actually a valid point and not an underestimation of his abilities, he decided that it was time to flee. All the money in the world is not worth his life, so he made the decision a long time ago that no matter how much he was going to make, that he was to flee if he got down to two hearts.

With his next course of action decided, Kakuzu uses his remaining affinities of water and lightning to unleash a massive wave of electrified water at Jiraiya. Jiraiya simply creates a mud wall and jumps to the top to avoid it, but misses the lightning mask monster landing in his face unleashing a False Darkness jutsu, blinding him temporarily, allowing Kakuzu to escape. Jiraiya contemplates whether or not to go after the weakened Kakuzu, but decides that he needs to meet Naruto at the rendezvous point and secure Fuu.

Arriving at the rendezvous point a day later, Jiraiya finds Naruto placing a wet towel on Fuu's head inside an old abandoned shack, several empty cups of instant ramen laying about. Speaking up he asks, "How she doing Gaki?"

Jumping up in surprise, Naruto pulls out a kunai in a defensive posture and yells out, "Damn it pervy sage! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Where the hell have you been?!"

Raising his hands up, Jiraiya says, "Whoa there Naruto. Relax. I just got done handling the other Akatsuki member, and he was like a zombie that wouldn't stay down now matter how many times I killed him. He ended up escaping and I could have gone after him, but I was more concerned about you and the girl, so I let him go and came back here. Now, answer my question, is she ok?"

Putting his kunai away and breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto answers, "She's really weak, but she's alive and is getting better. We were eating ramen and talking about how our childhoods were alike before she nodded off."

Jiraiya responds, "Good, but I'll still check her out for myself."

"Why pervy sage? She's alive, isn't that good enough?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya answers, "Yes that's good, but the fact that those guys were trying to kill her makes me think they must have already extracted the Bijuu. Otherwise they would have focused on capturing her instead, but if the Bijuu was already extracted they wouldn't need to kill her, she'd have already died. I need to find out what they did to her if I want any answers."

Naruto replies, "Alright, but what do you hope to find?"

Jiraiya answers while unsealing some equipment to analyze Fuu's seal, "I don't know. I'll tell you if I find something. In the meantime, you can fill me in on what happened with that crazed scythe guy." Naruto just sits down while Jiraiya works and tells him what happened after they separated.

Two hours pass as the light in the shack dims, night has fallen with little to no noise coming from inside. The door suddenly opens as Jiraiya and Naruto walk out of the shack leaving Fuu to rest while they talk.

Naruto asks, "So did you find anything pervy sage?"

Jiraiya answers, "Yes and no. Her seal while weakened is still intact and her Bijuu is still there, but it appears as if the strain on her seal from the Bijuu's chakra pushing against it has shrunk by half. I noticed this while reinforcing her seal, I think the Akatsuki split her Bijuu in half like your father did, by separating it's Ying and Yang chakra. If so, they already have a complete version of the Seven Tails and that's why they were going to kill her, so that the other half would reunite with the half they sealed away."

Naruto then asks, "Does that mean they wont target her anymore?"

"No, not necessarily. The Akatsuki will most likely try to kill her when given the chance, but she'll be a low priority. If their goal is to collect all the Bijuu, then they'll focus on the ones they don't have, like you." Jiraiya answered.

"Alright, what do we do with Fuu now? I don't like the idea of sending her back to Taki where traitors are waiting to sell her out again!" Naruto asked.

"Well it's not up to us, Fuu will have to decide for herself what she wants to do. Plus we still have to wait for her to wake up and unseal this scroll I received from Shibuki. It might have crucial information on this entire situation and might help Fuu make a decision." Jiraiya answered.

"Then let me open it and take a look.", a femine and somewhat weak voice let out.

Turning to the voice, Jiraiya and Naruto see Fuu standing at the doorway of the shack, leaning on the door's frame to stay up. Naruto quickly runs over to her, taking the place of the door frame by letting her lean on him, causing Fuu to blush and Jiraiya to silently chuckle to himself.

Naruto says, "Fuu! Be careful, you're still recovering, you should still be in bed resting."

A little flustered, Fuu responds, "I'm f-fine. I want to see what Shibuki-sensei left for me. I'll rest afterwards, I promise Naruto."

Naruto caves with a sigh and says, "Fine, but you'll do it inside while sitting down. I don't want you falling down from shock or something. Ok Fuu?"

As Fuu give Naruto a small smile and a nod, Jiriaya playfully says, "Wow Naruto! You haven't even been on your first date together, yet you're already so protective. Oh, young love! What a splendid thing! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

That causes both Fuu and Naruto to go crimson in the face and Naruto to yell out, "D-damn it pervy sage! It's not like that! I'm just worried about her health! She did just have half her Bijuu stolen! Can't you be a pervert later?!"

That just makes Jiraiya laugh even harder and Naruto to pout, but Fuu is shocked and asks, "Wait! What do mean half of my Bijuu has been stolen?! What happened to me!?", she's starting to hyperventilate.

Jiraiya immediately stops laughing, whipping the tears from his eyes, responds in a calming voice, "Relax Fuu. Lets go inside and we'll tell you everything, and you can see what Shibuki left you in this scroll."

Taking several deep breaths, Fuu calms down and allows Naruto to help her inside with Jiraiya following after them. Jiraiya then goes into a detailed explanation of what he knows and believed happened to her. After a few minutes of Fuu silently thinking about what she has been told, and shedding some tears over her team members death, she asks for the scroll Shibuki gave them. With a hand-seal she releases the seal on it and opens it up to reveal a storage seal. Biting her thumb to draw some blood, she then presses her hand down on it while channeling some chakra, causing a puff of smoke to appear. When the smoke dissipates, it reveals several items, a pile of clothes like what she has on now, some underwear and pajamas, a stack of around twenty million ryo, some food supplies, extra ninja tools, and another scroll containing a personal letter to her.

The letter reads: Fuu if you're reading this then thankfully Lord Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki were able to save you from the Akatsuki. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. You are like the daughter that I never had, and I'm so proud of the young woman you've become, I know you'll do great things. As for the two who saved you, you can trust them, they'll keep you safe, because I can't any longer. The council went behind my back and made a deal with the Akatsuki to hand you over in exchange for Taki's safety. One of their members is a rouge shinobi from our village named Kakuzu, he left over 70 years ago, so we didn't think he'd be a problem after all this time. We were wrong, with his knowledge of how to find our village and our villages decline in strength, the Akatsuki would have destroyed us. I know that's no excuse for them betraying you, and I was furious when I found out, but I can't stop them for I don't have the power to protect our village from them. I'm sorry for that. So once I heard about what they did, I prepared this scroll for you and sent word to Lord Jiraiya through one of his hidden spies to save you and deliver this scroll to you. Looking back now, I wish I had taken young Naruto's offer, but I was just too protective of you to allow the risk of him taking you away from me. To be honest, I might have been wrong in keeping you isolated the way I did, but I just wanted you to be safe, even if it meant being lonely, and now I need to ask more of you. I need you abandon Taki and go to Konoha for protection, you'll be seen as a traitor who switched side to become a Konoha-nin, but you don't have any other option. The council has already prepared a story for the possibility of your return, they have already blamed the deaths of your two escorts on you and have written you off as a rouge shinobi. If you returned now, you'd be captured and have the Seven Tails removed from you, so you can never return, we'll never see each other again. I hope and pray that you can find happiness and friendship in your new life. Never forget that I'll always love you Fuu and goodbye.

Throughout reading the letter from Shibuki, the closest thing to a father she ever had, she was in tears, shaking uncontrollably. By the time she finishes, she is filled with a swirling storm of emotions, unable to process the rage, pain, betrayal, and hopelessness in her, added with the exhaustion of her ordeal, she passes out.

Fuu wakes up the next afternoon, having slept nearly sixteen hours, ready to discuss what she plans to do now that she can't return home. She let Naruto and Jiraiya read Shibuki's letter to spare herself having to explain everything to them.

After reading it, Jiraiya then asks, "Well then, do you want to join Konoha? Because you don't have to, you can always try going at it alone or even joining another village."

Fuu answers, "Yes, I would like to join Konoha. My most precious person told me that it's what I should do, Shibuki has never done wrong by me before, why would he now. Besides, I don't think I'd make it on my own for long with the Akatsuki after me and it wasn't another village that came to my rescue, so I have even less of a reason to trust them over Konoha."

Naruto happily says, "That's great Fuu! I can't wait to introduce you to my friends, Ba-chan, Iruka-sensei, and-"

Getting cut off by Jiraiya, "Whoa now. Don't get ahead of yourself just yet Naruto. Tsunade will have to agree to take Fuu in as new member of Konoha-nin and then so does the majority of the Jonin council. They'll have to take into consideration that Fuu could be a ploy to unleash the Seven Tails on Konoha, or even acting as a spy for Taki, before they decide to take in Fuu. It'll take some time and we'll have no idea what they'll decide until then, so be patient."

Naruto asks with worry in his voice, "Then what's Fuu suppose to do until then?"

Jiraiya answers, "That's simple Naruto. She can just stay with us while we finish your training, you still have about five months left. That should be more than enough time for Tsunade and the Jonin council to come to a decision, if that's ok with you Fuu?"

Fuu answers with a smile, "Yeah, that sounds good to me. I don't mind spending more time with Naruto and besides, what other choice do I have.".

It really did sound good to her, she was developing feelings for Naruto, but she wasn't sure if it was just because he saved her or if she has real feelings for him. Getting to spend five months with him will help her find out.

"Alright! I'll finally have someone else to talk to than pervy sage! I'm getting tired of having to listen to all his perverted stories!", Naruto excitedly shouted before giving Fuu a big hug in appreciation.

While Fuu nearly overheats from suddenly being hugged by Naruto, Jiraiya just shakes his head at Naruto's naivety at his effect on girls that like him. Though he is fully aware that Fuu could simply be effected by the Nightingale effect, so he'll just keep it to himself, no reason to get Naruto's hopes up. Instead he gets to work on sending out a report to Tsunade about what happened and having to convince the council to take in Fuu. Plus he's going to send the corpse of Kisame's body double and the scrolls containing the immortal Hidan, to gain intelligence on the Akatsuki and see if she can figure out how to kill him.

Jiraiya doesn't envy Tsunade with all the work and problems he's sending her. Though to help out the Fuu problem, he'll send her all the information he has on her situation, including the scroll that was hand written by Taki's leader stating that she was set up and discarded by Taki's council. His bigger concern is that he knows that Danzo is going to try and get the council to take in Fuu so that her Bijuu can be extracted and sealed inside a loyal Konoha shinobi, but he trusts Tsunade to keep that from happening. All that he knows for sure, is that the next five months will be interesting, to say the least. Maybe he'll get some good material for his books through Fuu and Naruto. Jiraiya starts giggling pervertedly to himself as Naruto and Fuu feel chills run up their spins.

The first two months with Fuu had been rather fun for Naruto. He had someone new to spar with and he nearly geek'd-out on Fuu's awesome wings, wishing the fox gave him something cool like that. Then there's how Fuu's as excited and hyper as he is, meaning they tend to understand one another with little to no difficulty, plus she a total tomboy, she's not afraid to get down and dirty with fighting or pranking pervy sage or each other.

One time Fuu actually helped him get pervy sage drunk and trick him into going into a cross-dressing bar once, he nearly peed himself from laughing so hard while watching pervy sage dancing with a dude in drag, and run away screaming about how he felt something poking against his hip!

On top of all of that, he could really relate with her pain at being a jinchuuriki, the loneliness of isolation they both experienced. Sometimes he'd find out that they ended up talking the day away without realizing it until night fell. He also learned that Fuu actually ended up saving some of his friends during the chunin exams she was coming from before being captured by the Akatsuki. She saved Ino, Choji, and Sakura from a giant scorpion that had captured them. He was on pins and needles when she went on about the guy trying to extract Gaara's Bijuu, then her own, only stopping him by stalling him with a cocoon to protect her.

Fuu also enjoyed his stories from his chunin exams, all the way up to getting his Kubikiribocho in Nami. They both shared a cry over his story about Haku and Zabuza, and how even though they were his enemies, he learned what it meant to have real strength and to carve out his own path of the shinobi from them. She was even supportive of his desire to bring back his friend Sasuke and even offered to help him do it. He honestly never felt this close to anyone before, not even Sakura-chan.

Fuu couldn't believe how happy she was to finally have a friend like Naruto, she always dreamed what it would be like, but never thought it'd be this great. He just seemed to get her, like they had always known each other. When they shared stories, she couldn't help but see the similarities between them. They both had been hated by everyone and grew up alone, wishing just to be seen and loved for who they are. She was also inspired by how Naruto was able to make so many friends and find a path all his own.

She didn't like how he had this big crush on Sakura, a girl she saved during the exams, she still had these warm passions about Naruto that she couldn't quiet understand. It was like she couldn't stand being away from him without missing the warmth he seemed to radiate all the time. She even went to Jiraiya to ask him about it, if he could help her understand these unfamiliar feelings growing inside her. He said that it meant she had romantic feelings for Naruto, after laughing pervertedly, and gave her copies of his Make-Out series, saying they'd help give her a clue about what romantic feelings are.

After reading the first two, she had to admit that they did help, but they also started to give her vivid dreams of her and Naruto doing similar things as what was done in those books. It's making it hard not to blush when looking at him, and sometimes she peeks on him in the bath, oh kami, she's turning into a female Jiraiya! Well not as bad as him, she only cares to peek on Naruto and sometimes gazes at other women when she bathes. What? She's curious if would be as good with a women as with a man, there is no crime in that, but then again, she does often imagine being with both at the same time. Maybe this Sakura girl Naruto talks about so often wouldn't mind joining her with Naruto once, or maybe that Hinata girl he also brings up. That can all wait as far as she is concerned, for now she needs to get into just Naruto's pants, but how to go about it? Naruto has been very dense about her advances on him.

It was around the fourth month with Fuu that Naruto started to realize that Fuu was attracted to him, from the supposed accidental gropes during their spars, to the way she tends to touch him in an excessive amount, once he swore that he saw her peeking on him in the bath. To be honest, he was attracted to her to, enjoying the way her breasts felt when she'd press them up against him every chance she got, to how she come out the bath in just a skimpy towel. He just didn't know what to do, even though he feels a deep connection to Fuu, he still hasn't figured out his developing feelings for Hinata and his feelings for his long time crush Sakura. It's not like he can have all three, he's not a super pervert like Jiraiya or a character in one of his perverted stories. He doubts that there is a single woman in all the world that would even like his books, let alone try to reenact one of them.

At that comment Fuu sneezes and Jiraiya feels pride swell in his chest, like a long time dream was coming true.

So Naruto decided to lay all of his cards on the table with Fuu and be prepared to take a beating from her. He figured that he'd take Fuu out to the festival going on in the town they're staying in, then once they are alone and had their fill of fun, he'd tell her everything.

Fuu was absolutely over come with joy, Naruto surprised her by buying her a green yukata with an orange obi and himself an orange yukata with a green obi, then asked her out on a date to the festival. Finally all her efforts to get Naruto's attention paid off and if everything goes right, she'll be losing her virginity to him tonight!

Sure, some might say that a fifteen year old, almost sixteen, is a little young to be having sex, but she's a kunoichi and shinobi are lucky to reach thirty, so by shinobi years she's middle-aged. Apart of her is scared to loss her virginity, or worse, for him to reject her, and another part was exhilarated to have her first sexual experience with the guy she loves. Yes, she means love! Fuu came to realize this when a month ago, word came back from Konoha that she was excepted as one of their own, from now on she's an official Konoha-nin.

When it came time to put on her new forehead protector, she couldn't do it! She broke down crying about how her old one meant so much more to her, and to have to throw it away like garbage was impossible for her to do. Jiraiya had to explain that it was a necessary part of becoming a Konoha-nin and that her old one was just a metal plate from a village that betrayed her. Naruto on the other hand, had taken her old forehead protector, flipped the metal piece over and engraved the other side with the leaf symbol of Konoha, all that calligraphy came in handy, making it look professionally done. Handing it back to her, he said that just like his forehead protector, hers carries a weight of success built on effort and is an irreplaceable gift from her most precious person. That this way she'll still carry her past, but be able to move forward with the future Shibuki gifted her with. At that moment he showed her that he cared about her and knew exactly how she felt. How could she not fall in love with him, that's the only real question.

The festival was great, Naruto and Fuu hit just about every stand, playing and winning every game, they got so many prizes that even after giving a lot away Naruto was forced to seal away the rest. Then there was all the food they ate, from sashimi to yakitori, and takoyaki to taiyaki, they felt like they were going to burst! Naruto ended up burping mid-sentence and started to apologize, only to be stopped by Fuu burping even louder. They actually end up having a burping contest right there, others even joined in, mostly guys, but in the end Fuu won with a huge belch lasting two whole minutes! Call him weird, but there is nothing cooler than a girlfriend who not only doesn't mind him burping, but actually out does him. Huh. A girlfriend. Well he hopes, but he still has a problem with that, namely Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan.

After hours of fun, Naruto and Fuu are sitting on a hill overlooking the festival, completely isolated from everyone, Fuu leaning into Naruto's right side, her head resting on his shoulder, his right arm wrapped around her. The fireworks have just started lighting up the dark sky when Fuu makes her move, she looks up at Naruto and calls out his name in a soft and sensual voice, getting him to look down at her blushing face. Moving closer to each other, their faces inching forward, their eyes hooded and filled with want, Fuu bridges the gap, sealing his lips with hers. It's a tender first kiss, each one taking their time enjoying the feeling of the others lips. Naruto's hands move to Fuu's hips, while she shifts into his lap, her knees on either side of him, and snakes her arms around his neck.

Pulling back, ending their kiss, to catch their breath, Fuu says while staring into Naruto's eyes, "I love you."

Naruto breath catches in this throat, he had always wanted a certain pink haired girl to say those words to him, but here he is kissing another beautiful girl while she confesses her love for him. He's happy and scared at the same time, happy to have someone return his feelings and to have experienced his first real kiss, and scared at how Fuu will react to what he's about to say. He freezes, unable to speak, just stuck looking at Fuu with shocked eyes. Seeing Naruto's reaction to her confession, Fuu's eyes start tearing up, the fear of Naruto's impending rejection gripping her heart.

Seeing the tears in Fuu's eyes and feeling her body tremble, clear signs of hurt at his inaction, Naruto quickly speaks up, "I-I love you to Fuu!"

With a little of her fear bleeding away, Fuu asks, "Then why did you hesitate? And why do still look scared?"

Naruto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, ready to take whatever happens, opens his eyes and says, "I really do love you Fuu. I've never felt this close to anyone before and I can't see my life without you in it, but I-I still have these feelings for Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. Back when I started my training trip two years ago, pervy sage said something to me that had me doubt my love for Sakura-chan. Then only a few weeks later Hinata comes and drops a bomb on me about how she feels about me. I was lost in a loop at what to do, so I just pushed it to the side and throw myself into my training. Then over these last two years I have been talking with both Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan through messages, finding out that the feelings I tried to ignore were stronger than ever. With Sakura, I got to know her in a way couldn't before, falling for her all over again. Then with Hinata, I got see her for the first time and got closer to her than I ever thought I would, finding out that I have feeling for her too. I still don't know what to do with these feeling. Then I got that fateful message asking me and pervy sage to save you from the Akatsuki. At first all I thought about you was that you're someone like me, burdened with a Bijuu, and I had to save you from the same fate that awaits all of us jinchuuriki. But over these past four months, I've come to have one the best friendships I've ever had and to fallen in love with my best friend. Your weird matches my weird, we're like two mismatched puzzle piece that never fit anywhere else, but-"

Fuu interrupts, "-we complete each other, making an entire picture.", finishing his sentence. Tears are now falling full force down her face, tears of joy at her fears being wrong.

Naruto continues while wiping away her tears with his thumb, "Exactly. I love you and couldn't go forward with those feelings without letting you know about my feelings for Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. I wont blame you for not wanting to be with a guy who is also in love with two other girls, you deserve to have someone love just you. Not me, who can't help but still love others while being completely and madly in love with you."

Naruto has become downtrodden, expecting Fuu to yell at him or at least run off, but he is surprised when Fuu suddenly tightens her grip on him and smashes her lips to his! This kiss isn't tender, it's filled with burning passion and lust, trying to open his mouth to speak, Fuu's tongue slips inside, exploring every inch of his mouth. Not sure what to do, having never been in a situation like this before, Naruto just lets her explore until his tongue starts pushing back. The tongue fight ends with Naruto's tongue making it into Fuu's mouth, exploring it just a thoroughly as Fuu did his.

After several minutes of this, desperately needing air, they both pull back with a string of saliva connecting them, breaking as they catch their breath. Naruto can feel Fuu's moistening hot panty covered mound grind against his hardening erection, causing them both to moan.

Stopping things from going any further, Naruto asks with deep breaths, "A-Aren't you m-mad or upset?"

Finding it hard to focus on anything but the hard appendage digging into her pussy, Fuu answers, "N-No. All I care about is how you're m-madly in love with me. I've already suspected that you are in love with Sakura and Hinata with the way you tend to talk about them. Ah! T-To be honest, I was wondering h-how to convince y-you to invite them into o-our bed."

"W-Wait! What!?" Naruto yelled out.

Fuu responds like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "I want to try having sex with a woman to see what it's like, but I don't want to cheat on you, I love you. So by getting one or both the girls you like to join us is the best solution. It's not like I'm going to bring a random girl to our love nest, we both have to love her for this to work."

At this point Naruto's mind is going in overdrive, trying to wrap his head around what Fuu is saying. Is this some kind of trap she's making to ensnare him, or is she really serious about being in a relationship with him and another woman!

Seeing his uncertainty, Fuu grabs his face with both hands and make him look her in the eyes, saying with a serious tone of voice, "I'm serious Naruto. It's what I want and what you need."

"B-But how can want something like that? It's not normal, it's like one of pervy sages unrealistic books! And how do you know you would love either Sakura-chan or Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

With a full blush Fuu responds, "Well, I actually got interested in that by reading his books, that I love by the way, so don't insult them! It's not like I can control what I'm attracted to, I just am and I'm not going to apologize for it! As for it not being normal, who cares! Our lives have never been normal and I don't see why anyone else's opinion should matter, so long as we're happy. With knowing whether I'll love Sakura or Hinata, I really won't know for sure until I meet them, but if you love them then they are without a doubt great people, and that's enough for me."

Seeing that Fuu was being completely honest with him, Naruto says, "Alright, I get it and I fully except you for who you are, no matter how awesomely weird you may be. I do love every bit about you after all. The only problem I see with this plan of yours is that I don't really see anyone agreeing with such a thing, especially Sakura-chan. She's more likely to pound me to death than even consider it, while Hinata, I can't really say for sure, but I doubt this is what she had in mind when we got together."

Fuu responds while grinding herself into Naruto's still hard erection, "Umm, aahh, lets worry about that later. Right now I just want you!"

What proceeds is an unforgettable moment for the both of them, filled with love, passion, and ecstacy filled orgasms.

They both lay there trying to catch their breath as they come down from their respective orgasms. Fuu feels like her skin is soaking in bubbles with tinges of pleasure spread throughout her body, still waiting for her eye sight to return.

Naruto is just waiting, with a huge grin on his face, for the feeling to come back to his body, as if he had died from orgasmic pleasure and was waiting for his spirit return to his body.

Fuu is the first to recover, snuggling up against Naruto's side, her left leg swinging over his, her breasts pressed up against his ribcage, her left arm reaching across his chest pulling him closer to her, and resting her head on his chest, listening to the sounds of his breathing and heartbeat. When Naruto recovers he wraps his left arm around Fuu's lower back, his hand stopping on her left butt cheek, rubbing it lightly, and kissing the top of Fuu's head.

After spending the next ten minutes just snuggling, Naruto speaks up, "Wow. That was just perfect Fuu-chan. Thank you."

Fuu just giggles lightly before saying, "Why are you thanking me? I enjoyed it just as much as you did."

Naruto responds, "I know, it's just that you gave me your first time, and all the while planning on helping me with my feelings for Sakura and Hinata. You're a very special woman Fuu and I'm lucky you chose me to love."

Still being able to blush at Naruto's words, even though they just had mind blowing sex, Fuu responds, "Sweet talker. I'm the lucky one to have met the love of my life during the worst part of my life. I'd all but given up on living when the Akatsuki captured me, but then you came along and saved me. Not just from them, but from my loneliness and despair at being abandoned and betrayed by my village, you even understood how I still couldn't let go of my connection to Taki. Thank you for loving me Naruto."

At those words, Fuu kisses Naruto and starts straddling him again, prepared for another round of sex. As the night changes into day, sounds of pleasure filled moans and groans with the slapping of flesh can be heard throughout nearby woodlands. That is where a grinning Jiraiya is found, scribbling in his journal about the new material he just found. Laughing to himself, he can't help but think that he was wrong about Naruto's biography being to boring, it might give his make-out series a challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDiapar

Chapter 4

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/10/19**

Approaching Konoha is a group of three shinobi, one of which is a kunoichi, two of them are headed home after two and half years of training, and the kunoichi is headed to her new home with the young man she fell in love with. Fuu has been enjoying the last month of Naruto's training, jumping him every chance she gets, from when he's bathing, to when they're suppose to be sleeping. Thankfully every kunoichi is taught the anti-pregnancy jutsu in the event of being raped, even though Fuu wouldn't mind having Naruto's children, it's still far too soon for that and with the risk of the Akatsuki it'd be just straight-up reckless. She is worried that Naruto's friends and village might not be so excepting of her, she is a jinchuuriki and is considered to be the type that defects from one village to another. Getting people to trust her will be difficult if not at times impossible, but for Naruto she'll endure anything.

Naruto on the other hand is excited to see his friends after two years of vigorous training, not to mention his home. Naruto is also happy that he had grown another two inches in his last five months of training, making him a respectable 5'8, no way he'll still be the shortest amongst his friends. Then there is the fact that he can now place a Hiraishin mark one handed in one second, almost as fast as his father. Walking past the gate with Fuu hanging on Naruto's left arm, and Jiraiya walking slightly behind the couple, they are gazed upon by the two guards, Kotetsu and Izumo. They're wondering if that's who they think is and who's the girl hanging on his arm. Once getting a decent distance from the gates, Naruto slips out of Fuu's grip and slips off his backpack, then hops up a nearby power pole, climbing all the way to the top to get a better look at the village.

Jiraiya comments with a little laugh, "Always rambunctious.", while Fuu just pouts and crosses her arms, missing Naruto's warmth.

Naruto yells out excitedly with both arms spread out, "Yeah! I'm home Konoha! You haven't changed a bit. Huh? Hee he he, they added Tsunade-baa-chan to the Hokage's monument!"

"All grown up, eh, Naruto?" a familiar voice asked.

With every one turning to see who it is, Kakashi lets out with a little wave, "Yo!", while sitting down on a rooftop behind Naruto reading Make-Out Violence.

Kakashi Hatake has spiky silver hair often oriented to his left-side, a right dark grey eye that's in a heavily-lidded expression, his left eye has a vertical scar going down it with a sharingan, which is covered by his forehead protector when he's not using it. He also wears a mask that covers the lower half of his face, that prevents most of his face from being visible. The rest of his attire is the standard Konoha Jonin outfit.

Naruto responds, "Kakashi sensei! Man, you haven't changed at all!" He then hops down next to Kakashi, reaching inside his weapons pouch on his left butt cheek, "I'm glad I ran into you before I forgot! I have something for you!"

Somewhere else in the village, Tsunade opens a door into a room with a young woman looking out the window, saying, "Sakura..."

Said girl responds, "Yes, Milady?"

Tsunade answers, "That brat, Naruto has returned!"

Going back to Kakashi, with a darkened face and sweat going down the side, he says in shocked joy, "What?! Naruto?! Naruto, you..." In Naruto's left hand is a copy of Make-Out Tactics, a gift for the visible shaken Kakashi.

Answering Kakashi's unasked question, Naruto states, "It's the latest in the Make-out series, Y'know. The first in three years! Figured you'd like it, even though it's totally boring."

Jiraiya looks away with a sour face thinking about how Naruto's a fool for not understanding the genius of his books, but then again, with all the crazy sex he's been having with Fuu, it probably seems tame in comparison. At least she understands the brilliance of his master pieces, having also given Fuu her own advance copy.

While Fuu gives Naruto a stink-eye for forgetting her warning about not dissing her favorite series, and evens considers cutting him off of sex for a while! No! That'd hurt her more than him, but no oral for him for at least a week! Plus she's going to make him double down giving her both sensual massages and oral sex! That'll teach him!

Fuu gets brought out her, oddly turned fantasy of sexual punishment with Naruto, by Kakashi asking, "You're Fuu, the new addition to Konoha's forces?"

"Oh! Um? 'cough' Y-yea. That's me!", a flustered Fuu answered.

Kakashi just looks at her with his one lidded eye, analyzing her, before asking, "So you're Naruto's girlfriend, have you been using safe sex practices? I'd hate to have to find another fill-in for our team due to premature pregnancy."

While Naruto chokes and Jiraiya laughs, Fuu turns her head to the side in confusion, before asking, "How do you even know that we're dating, let alone having sex? Did Naruto tell you?"

Kakashi answers, "Yes, Naruto told me that you two are dating, but I figured out the sex part by the way your face was heating up with a perverted look on it. Though to be honest, you only just now confirmed my suspicion about the sex, so please tell me that you're using the anti pregnancy jutsu?"

"Yes, I'm very careful to use it both before and after each session, but does it matter if it takes several hours between each uses?" Fuu answered/asked.

At that response, Naruto is the one to turn crimson and Jiraiya answers Kakashi silent question with a knowing nod, having spied on them a few times for research purposes of course. Ok maybe just to make sure Naruto was doing it right. Alright fine! He was just being a dirty old super pervert sage, but hey, he's always been up-front about who he is. They should have known better than to do it when he was around, like he'd ever pass up such an opportunity.

Kakashi doesn't know whether to be shocked about Fuu's blatant confession of her sex life, or impressed at Naruto's stamina. Most teenage boys tend to really lack in that area in the beginning.

Snapping out of his stupor, Kakashi answers, "No, you should still be fine as long as you use the jutsu once you're done."

Fuu responds with a smile, "Ok! That's good then! I don't have to worry about getting pregnant anytime soon!"

"Can we please stop talking about this in public! People are starting to stare!" Naruto screams.

True to what Naruto said, people are staring at them, some just shocked, others envious of either Naruto getting to have that much sex with such a beauty, or Fuu having a stud that can please her. Seeing the stares, they all decided to move along with Naruto suggesting they go eat at Ichiraku's Ramen and Fuu agreeing with him, having wanted to try it for a while now, to see if it's as good as Naruto claims. Jiraiya and Kakashi fall behind them, so that they can talk to each other uninterrupted.

Jiraiya says, "Just as I promised, I leave Naruto in your care now Kakashi."

"Sure, but do you know what the Akatsuki are planning to do with the Bijuu that they're trying to capture?" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya answers, "No I don't, but that's why I'm leaving, to try and find what it is they are planning."

As Naruto and Fuu turn a corner, Naruto spots Sakura and Tsunade walking down the street, Naruto calls out, "Eh?! Sakura-chan is that you?"

Turning around is a girl with fair skin, green eyes, and pink hair. She is wearing a red sleeveless top with a white circular pattern on the back, black gloves, low-heel, knee-high boots, black shorts underneath a short pink apron skirt, and pink elbow protectors. Her red forehead protector is worn as a hairband, she and is carrying a medical pouch above her butt.

Sakura responds in a surprised voice, "What?! Naruto! Hey we were just looking for you! Lady Tsunade just told me you returned to the village. How have-"

Stopping mid-sentence due to her getting a good look at Naruto, with his much taller and muscular frame, but not bulging, more like highly dense and compact, his shoulder long hair with face framing bangs, he's not just a dead ringer of the Fourth Hokage, but a very handsome young man. His new look takes her by surprise, causing her breath to catch in her throat and a prominent blush to cross her face.

"Wow, it's great to see you in person again Sakura-chan! You haven't changed one bit!" Naruto excitedly says.

At that remark, Sakura snaps out of her stupor and gains a tick mark on her forehead, about to give back an irritated response, she is cut off by Naruto continuing, "You're just as beautiful as I remember!"

Now her face has turned pure crimson, she was never referred to as beautiful back then, even now with her more womanly figure, no one says that to her other than her parents, but who counts them. Sure no one has called her ugly, except back in the academy when other girls would make fun of her forehead, but that was years ago, and now she is a strong, proud kunoichi that no one would even dare talking about like that. With her being Lady Tsunade's apprentice, there has actually been quite a bit of interest in her lately, but when she compares her self to Ino and even Hinata, she finds her beauty lacking. For Naruto to have always looked at her like she's beautiful, even back when she had the least amount of confidence about her looks, makes her heart flutter in ways that she thought only Saskue-kun could cause.

Sakura is brought back to her senses by Fuu suddenly coming up next her and staring intensely at her, invading her personal space.

Before she can ask who she is and what's doing, Fuu blurts out, "Hmm, I thought that she'd have bigger breasts. I was kind of hoping that we'd at least have a threesome with a girl that has bigger boobs than I do. Maybe that Hinata girl you also like has a big pair?"

Sakura replies, "What!? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I'm Fuu. We actually met during the chunin exams, I rescued your team from a giant scorpion. What I'm talking about is that me and Naruto are looking to see if you or Hinata, maybe both, would be willing to join us in a relationship. After all, it's not like we want some random girl to join in on some amazing sex, we want someone who we'll both love." Fuu answered like it was the most common thing in the world.

A series of things happen at that bombshell Fuu dropped. One, Naruto turns blue in the face from fear and hopes not to be killed by every angry woman and jealous man around.

Two, Jiraiya starts snickering with perverted laughs, imagining all the great material it'd make for Naruto's biography.

Three, Kakashi just has a blush on his face/mask and thinks that Jiraiya may have had too big an influence on Naruto, his soon to be dead student.

Four, Tsunade starts cracking her knuckles with the intent of killing Jiraiya for both his nearly killing Naruto two years ago, that she just remembered, and for apparently corrupting Naruto into his perverted copy.

Five, Fuu is just standing there, completely unaware of what she just caused, looking absolutely innocent.

Last but not least, Sakura starts shaking in uncontrollably rage, right before punching Naruto into the ground, leaving a trench in his wake, stopping a few feet away with his upper body stuck in the ground!

Stomping over to Naruto, Sakura yanks him out and grabs him by the collar then starts shaking him viciously while yelling out, "What the hell kind of perverted crap have you been up to Naruto?! Do you honestly think I'd ever do something like?! We haven't seen each other in over two years and you think you can just add me to your sick harem! Do you have any idea how wrong that is? How did you think I'd feel about that?! Did you think by having one of your girls ask me would get me to say yes?! HUH!? Not to mention your intent to drag Hinata into this! You've become some kind of sick degenerate who thinks he can just fool some naïve girl into fulfilling your perverted fantasies! I'll beat some sense into you and set her straight!"

As Naruto is thinking how he knew this would happen and hoped Sakura-chan would show him some mercy, Jiriaya was sent flying out of Konoha by a swift and mountain crushing uppercut by Tsunade! It goes without saying that she shares Sakura's sentiment, but she blames Jiraiya more than Naruto.

Kakashi simply stays quiet, knowing that getting either of the enraged woman's attention would be disastrous for his health.

Fuu on the other hand is outraged at Sakura and responds by giving her a strong right hook to the face, releasing Naruto in the process. Nobody hurts the man she loves just because he's trying to help fulfill her fantasy, and no-one will treat her like a moron!

As Sakura picks herself off the ground holding her left cheek, with a little blood come from her mouth, everyone's eyes are on Fuu, who says,"What right do you have to judge Naruto? You've only been using him to get back your crush! Sure Naruto wants to save him for his own reasons, but that doesn't take away how you used his feelings for you for your own purposes! So what if he has moved on with me and has wanted to share his love! He told me from the beginning that he's still in love with you and has developed feelings for Hinata. He even tried talking me out of being with him because he thought that it was wrong to be in love with more than one person and I wont let you belittle him for it! I was the one that pushed him to add you or Hinata to our relationship, I'm interested in women too and want to try a threesome. So good luck trying to talk some sense into me! I feel like the lucky one, to have a man I love who is willing to leave his comfort zone just to make me happy. It's fine if you don't want to be apart of our family, but I wont let you or anyone else judge us for finally being happy! We both have grown up unloved and unwanted, so it doesn't matter if everyone in the world disapproves, they don't like us anyway and it's not illegal!"

Fuu proceeds to help pick Naruto up off the ground and lovingly touch his bruised face, checking to see if he's ok.

After Fuu's rant, it become perfectly clear that she's not some naïve little girl, but a mature and perverted young woman. Tsunade realizes that it wasn't Naruto that was corrupted, but Fuu! Plus there is some truth to what Fuu is saying, jinchuuriki are rarely excepted by society so it's not like such a relationship would really change much in people's view of Naruto. There's also no law against it, on the contrary there are laws for it, but they do date back around the era of Konoha's founding.

Clan leaders, nobles, and feudal lords all have had a number of wives, concubines, and mistresses, and laws protecting those relationships, but most don't practice such things now-a-days, except feudal lords. The only reason it hasn't been removed by law is in the event of a powerful clan's numbers becoming to low, like the Uchiha and other kekkei genkai baring clans, so that the surviving members can reproduce more offspring, thus reviving or saving the clan.

Those that failed to do this have gone extinct like the Senju, Kaguya or Hagoromo clans did, and many more since the warring clan era. If it came down to a legal reason for Naruto, he could always hide behind the fact that he's a surviving member of the Uzumaki clan. Honestly Tsunade doesn't care, so long as he's doing it for love and not to be some pervert like Jiraiya, or a playboy trying to rack-up a few notches on his belt.

Konohamaru was watching everything, hoping to show Naruto his new sexy jutsu, but decides that he'd rather not get killed by an enraged kunoichi. He'll wait to meet up with Naruto when he's alone and not surrounded by ill-tempered women.

Sakura is dumbfounded at what Fuu said, she wants to argue that she's not using Naruto, but apart of her knows that she is, even if unintentionally. Not to mention Fuu telling her that Naruto loves her, and with how he's trying to avoid looking at her, means it's true! What's she suppose to do about that, she doesn't know if she feels the same way about him, they've gotten a lot closer since he left. She's shared close personal moments with him and has even cried on his shoulder for support, knowing he'd say exactly what she needed to hear. He's always truly understood her better than anyone else, but she does know that she doesn't want to be in a polygamous relationship, so she'll just push those feelings aside.

Then to hear Fuu go off on how such a perverted plan was her idea and she got Naruto go along with it, just floored her. What woman anywhere would want to be with both a man and a woman? Ok, she has to admit that there are bisexuals in the world, but they don't do both at the same time, do they? Even if they did, they would only do it for fun before settling down, not as a choice for life. Sakura's not going to stop thinking Naruto and Fuu are perverts, and she'll never join in on such a life style, she has her Sasuke-kun to look forward to. Right? So for now she'll just let it go and focus on working as a team to save Saskue, after all they can still be friends even if they disagree on life choices.

"Fine Fuu, I'll back off, just don't try and recruit me to your side anymore. I'm happy with just wanting to love one boy, that's it! Also, I wont promise to not call you both perverts when you openly talk or show such things, but we can still be a team and friends. OK?" Sakura said.

Fuu replies with a smile, like nothing happened in the first place, and says "Sure! I just hope you don't have any problems with me showing Naruto affection when I want to."

"No I wont have a problem with that. It's just when you talk about adding people to your guy's relationship, keep that part to yourselves and we'll be fine." Sakura stated.

Naruto chimes in, "Sure Sakura, I promise you we'll keep it to ourselves. I honestly told Fuu not to say anything to you, but she gets excited and forgets stuff like that. Hee hee hee." Chuckling to himself, missing the irony in that statement. "Wait! Fuu's going to be on our team now?!"

Kakashi decides to finally speak up, seeing as both women have cooled off, "Yes, Fuu will be standing in as our teams forth man."

Naruto happily replies, "That's great! Now we don't have to be split up and be put on different teams! Ya Know!"

Fuu asks rather confused, "Huh? We were going to be separated, but I thought I told Jiraiya that I would only agree to join Konoha on the condition that I wouldn't be separated from you?"

Tsunade now takes command by saying, "Yes, Fuu I know, and that's why you're on his team, otherwise you would probably be rotated around so that one of you is always in the village. It was actually one of the harder points of contention in the meeting to allow you entry into our forces. Most didn't see the point in having two jinchuuriki if they are always together, making you both an easier target and lowering your value as an asset. Several argued that it'd make more sense to keep one of you in the village at all times, as a weapon to defend against attacks."

Naruto raises his voice at that, "Fuu's not a weapon for people to use as they see fit! She's a person! Like me! What right do they have to say otherwise!"

Tsunade answers in a calming tone, "Relax Naruto. That didn't happen, and you need to also see that in Fuu's case we had to broach the situation in a way that makes her seem the most valuable to Konoha, otherwise there was a chance she'd be rejected."

Squeezing Fuu's hand in reassurance, Naruto says, "Fine Baa-chan, but I still don't have to like it!"

"Good. Now lets get back on track and head to training ground three, where I can evaluate your progress and gauge your teamwork skills." Kakashi said.

As Tsunade heads back to work and maybe check to see if Jiraiya is still alive, leaving Kakashi to handle the rest, Naruto has a sudden realization, "Oh! Hold on! Hey Sakura do you know where Hinata is right now?"

Sakura gives Naruto a squinted look while saying in a dangerous tone, "What?! Looking to ask her to join in on your perversion?"

A startled Naruto answers, "What!? No! I just promised her back when she lost her first patient that I would see her the moment I got back, to show her I'm perfectly fine and I haven't died."

Having remembered how devastated Hinata was when that happened, Sakura's face softens as she answers, "Hinata is taking a extra shift at the hospital today and wont get off until late tonight, so don't bother her until then Naruto."

"Ok, but when she gets off I'm going to see her, no matter how long I have to wait." Naruto stated.

Sakura replies, "Sure, I see no problem in that, just don't bother the nursing staff while you wait."

Naruto replies, "Yeah, I promise not to bug anyone while I wait."

Once they all arrive at training ground three, Naruto and Sakura fall into a depression at remembering that this is where team 7 was created with Saskue. Kakashi gets their attention and snaps Naruto and Sakura out of their depression by pulling out two bells and saying, "Alright, time to see if you can get the bells from me this time. You have until sunrise to succeed."

Fuu asks, "Why are there only two bells when there are three of us?"

Sakura answers, "That's to test our teamwork. Back when we first became genin, Kakashi-sensei used them to trick our three man team into splitting apart, instead of working together."

Kakashi adds, "But this time it's to test your abilities and efficiency in teamwork, for we'll be working not as students and teacher, but as equals. This time I feel like I'm going to have to take this seriously." While saying that, he lifts up his forehead protector, revealing his sharingan.

Naruto takes the charge by throwing kunai at Kakashi while rushing him at full speed and as Kakashi effortlessly dodges the kunai, his sharingan perceives the Hirashin marks on them, his eyes widening in shock at the revelation of it's meaning. In a flash of orange, Naruto appears in front of Kakashi with his kubikiribocho raised above his head in a prepared downward swing.

Fortunately for Kakashi, with the added perception of the sharingan, his prior knowledge of the Hirashin, and Naruto's apparent hesitation after teleporting, he's able to barely avoid Naruto's strike, but is still slightly cut on his left shoulder by the wind chakra coating the blade. Naruto doesn't let up by moving forward into a side slice, sending a wind slash at Kakashi, who jumps up out of the way, only to be met by an air-born Fuu with wings and her fist cocked back.

Just as her fist smashes into his face, he disappears in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log. Having lost sight of Kakashi, Naruto, Fuu, and Sakura start looking all round for him, only for Sakura to come to the conclusion that he's underground and smashes her right fist into the ground, breaking it apart in a large creator, revealing a wide eyed Kakashi.

Fuu is impressed with Sakura's strength, Naruto is mentally taking note not to piss off Sakura anytime soon, for she might actually kill him, and Kakashi is realizing that it wasn't just medical jutsu that Tsunade taught Sakura. Though Kakashi is very proud of both of them, remembering how easily he beat the both of them the first time they took the bell test and comparing their abilities to this time.

Sakura is now a competent kunoichi with monster strength and top notch medical prowess, while Naruto has astoundingly learned his fathers Hirashin and picked up sealing jutsu and kenjutsu like his mother, with the added skill of using wind chakra. Then there is Fuu's ability to tap into her bijuu's power with such control, apparently Taki took great care in her training, plus, there's how she can perfectly synchronizing with Naruto's attack to take him by surprise. Fuu's strength is on par with Guy's, not quiet as powerful as Sakura, but can still shatter boulders and bones. If it wasn't for his sharingan and experience, not to mention all the training he's undergone to whip himself back into shape, he would have taken a lot of damage already.

Several hours later, with the magnificent timing of Naruto's clones added to his unique kenjustu style mixed with both the Hirashin and wind release techniques, not to mention the well place earth justu traps he sets up, Kakashi has taken quite a few gashes and cuts all over his body. Then there is the surprising team work of Fuu and Sakura that has gotten him caught by Fuu's net and a near deadly punch from Sakura, fortunately he had been using a lightning clone that not just saved him but damaged both Fuu and Sakura.

He suspects that Fuu has some kind of communication jutsu that allows them to silently talk to each other, if the sonic chakra wave his sharingan sees emitted from Fuu is any indicator. They've fallen back to regroup and heal their injuries, giving him a chance to get some rest that he desperately needs, it's only just became dusk out and he has a long way to go in holding them off till sunrise. Kakashi wasn't expecting them to be this good, sure much better, but he wasn't expecting to be this worn out this soon.

Naruto's growth being the most surprising, having used a large amount of jutsu that takes even very talented shinobi years of training to master even just a few of the ones he's learned. Naruto's speed is at Guy's level, outside of using the inner-gates, and taijutsu is equal with Lee's current level. The fact that he is now using Zabuza's blade is shocking, but even more so is the way he uses it. Repeatedly sealing and unsealing it in a moments notice while in the middle of exchanging taijutsu, and using his clones to help maneuver both his body and the kubikiribocho to land devastating attacks. He even hid a Hirashin mark on it that even his sharingan failed to notice, nearly taking the bells from him. Man, now it'll take forever for him to get back to reading his new book!

With Fuu, Sakura, and Naruto grouped together, having Sakura treat their injures while they come up with a strategy to get the bells from Kakashi. Naruto says, "Damn! Kakashi-sensei is even tougher than I remember! His taijutsu is better than Lee's, his sense of smell is better than Kiba's, he's smarter than Shikamaru, his sharingan's better than Saskue's, and he has more justu than I do! My speed and strength are better than his, but with his sharingan and superior taijutsu he has been countering my every move, even with you guys distracting him. How are we suppose to get the bells from him?"

Sakura responds, "The real problem is Kakashi-sensei's sharingan. As long as he has it in play, we'll never get close enough to take the bells."

Fuu adds, "Yeah well it's not just that. I have a secret jutsu that can blind even sharingan, but with his sense of smell and sharp hearing we'd still fail to get the bells from him."

Sakura asks, "Hey Naruto do know any jutsu that can hold Kakashi-sensei down for a bit?"

Naruto answers, "Yeah, the dark swamp could capture him, but with his water style jutsu he could easily wash it out, plus if he were to add some lightning to it we'd be the ones getting hurt. Not to mention that with his own superior earth techniques he could simply escape or even turn it against us."

Sakura says, "What we need to do is blind his sharingan, take out his hearing, and block his sense of smell all at once."

Fuu replies, "I can blind him no problem, but what can we do to take out his other senses?"

An idea suddenly hits Naruto as he says, "Oh! I have an idea that might work!", Fuu and Sakura move in closer to listen to Naruto's plan, gaining smiles and nodding their heads in agreement.

As Kakashi is tempted to pull out his book and keep reading, Naruto comes flying down, having been dropped in by Fuu flying overhead, and throws a smoke bomb in Kakashi's face, covering him in red smoke. Kakashi feels his nostrils burning from an intense chili pepper smell going up his nose, causing him to cough and run out of the smoke right into Fuu.

Her mouth is wide open and her hands are held together in a hand sign, Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Powder Sneak Jutsu, a large quantity of fine luminous powder is exhaled from her mouth, temporarily blinding Kakashi in an extremely bright light, forcing him to close his eyes.

Now blinded and unable to smell anything, Kakashi hears rapidly approaching footsteps, from the sound and speed of them, he can tell it's Sakura coming at him. Knowing what's coming, Kakashi jumps back just as Sakura's fist smashes into the ground, causing an explosion of breaking rock and pluming smoke.

With the light fading from his eyes and the ringing from Sakura's punch disappearing, Kakashi looks at a hunched over Sakura, a sneezing Naruto, and a floating Fuu, and says, "Nice try you guys, but even with just my sense of sound I can still perceive your attacks. Better luck next time."

The sound of bells chiming gets Kakashi's immediate attention, turning around to see a smiling Naruto holding both bells and saying, "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, but there won't be a next time! He-he he he!"

Quickly looking back at Sakura and Fuu, finding the sneezing Naruto gone with a cloud of smoke in his wake, asks, "How did you..?"

Sakura replies while holding up one of Naruto's Hirashin kunai, "With this Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi realizes what happened and says, "I see, you blocked all of my senses so I wouldn't be able to notice Naruto using the Hirashin after Sakura's attack, to steal the bells from me. Good job everyone! From this moment forward we are now the newly revived team 7!"

"Yeah! Alright! I can't wait to start taking missions again! Y'Know!" Naruto yelled out in excitement.

Sakura happily says, "Yeah. It's good to be a team again."

Fuu excitedly grabs both Naruto and Sakura into a bone crushing hug and yells out in glee, "Yay! I'm in an official team now! We're going to have so much fun and be the bestest friends ever! I can't believe I'm really getting to make real friends! It feels so great!"

Naruto and Sakura decide to just bare through Fuu's monster hug, to let her enjoy the moment, knowing it must have been hard to have had no friends until now.

Night has fallen by the time Naruto and his team have made back into town, walking down the street talking about what their first mission together will be like.

"I hope it's fun! I've never been on missions before! Shibuki always kept me out of missions to keep me safe. Are they really that dangerous?" Fuu asked.

Kakashi answers, "Yes they can be very dangerous at times, but with the way you performed with Sakura and Naruto, you should do just fine Fuu."

Naruto adds, "Yeah! It'll be totally awesome Fuu-chan and no matter what happens, I'll be there for you!"

"We will all be there for each other, he means." Sakura corrected.

"Yeah, like Sakura said! You can rely on us to help you and we can rely on you to help us! We're a team now! Y'know!" Naruto said.

Happy to finally have people that will care about her, other than Shibuki and Naruto, Fuu says with tears of joy, "Thank you so much! I'll never let any of you down! I swear!"

Naruto snakes his right arm around Fuu's waist and pulls her into his side while saying, "I know you will Fuu. Now lets go get some Ichiraku ramen! It's on Kakashi-sensei today!"

Kakashi stops reading his book to reply, "Sorry, but I can't. I'll be busy writing up our team's roster and filing it in to the Hokage. Bye", with that he disappears in a puff of smoke.

Fuu wraps her left arm around Naruto's waist and leans into him, then takes the opportunity to ask, "Naruto, why don't you treat us to Ichiraku's? It can count as one of the dates you promised me."

Naruto pulls out his Gama-chan and counts his money, before saying, "Sure, after putting aside the money for treating Asuma's team, I have enough for that. As long as you don't mind Sakura-cha-Sakura.", correcting himself with removing the honorific. Sakura doesn't want his affections anymore, she made that very clear to him.

Sakura is surprised that she actually misses Naruto adding the honorific chan to her name, but shakes herself out of it and replies, "Yeah. I wont say no to a free meal and with the whole bell test, I'm starving. Besides, it can be an opportunity for me and Fuu to get to know each other better."

The three of them arrive at Ichiraku's, taking a seat after being greeted by Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. They were glad to see their favorite customer again, offering him and his friends a free bowl on the house, which they happily took. Naruto is sitting with Fuu on his right and Sakura on Fuu's right, Fuu is pressed up against Naruto as they wait for their food.

Sakura has a hard time watching their display of affection, wondering how they could be so close when they have the intention of adding others to their relationship. How could anyone really be in love with one person while looking to love someone else as well? It just doesn't seem to make any sense to Sakura, she never once thought about sharing Saskue with anyone, thus how her friendship with Ino ended back in the academy, her only real friend from back then, just for the possible affections of Saskue. She's just glad that their friendship has been rekindled, after putting their feelings out in the open during their fight in the first chunin exams.

For a single moment, Sakura imagines what it would have been like to have considered sharing Saskue with Ino and possible never losing their friendship in the first place, but quickly banishes that idea from her mind. Turning back to Naruto and Fuu, she sees they've up-graded to making out, her face quickly gaining a blush and looking away, not sure why her heart aches a little at seeing them kissing. She has known that there is a part of her that loves Naruto, but it's always getting beat back down by the part that loves Saskue, and with the whole him having a girlfriend who's planning on building them a harem, has made that part almost go silent, only to occasionally whisper in her ear how it might be fun to join his harem.

She's quick to dismiss that perverted part of her mind that tends to give her sex crazed dreams of Saskue and Naruto every now and a again, not wanting to believe she could be a closeted pervert. It's why she tends to overreact to any perverted actions that Naruto takes, not wanting to admit that she has similar thoughts at times, like her recent one she's been having for a few months now, of catching Naruto masterbating and offering to help him along, ending with her losing her virginity to him and climaxing to her fingers in bed at the end of the fantasy.

Sakura is snapped out of her thoughts by Ayame saying, "Here you go, two miso and one vegetable ramen, on the house. Please enjoy your meal!"

Naruto responds, "Thanks Ayame nee-chan! You know I will! I've been waiting for this for over two years! Y'know!"

Naruto dives into his bowl of ramen, slurping away at it like a man who was handed a glass of water after being lost in the desert, getting Fuu to comment, "Oh! Now I see were you get your gusto in eating out!"

Teuchi misses the double entendre while laughing, "Yup! Our food is so great that Naruto just can't get enough!"

Unfortunately everyone else does, causing Naruto to choke while Sakura and Ayame blush a deep crimson.

Once Naruto's coughs away his choking problem, he say in an embarrassed voice, "Fuu! You're not suppose to talk about private stuff like that in public!"

Fuu just asks with a confused look on her face, "Huh? Why not? I'm not ashamed of our sex life, are you?"

With everyone getting even redder in the face and Teuchi finally getting what Fuu meant earlier, Naruto answers, "No! I love you Fuu and would never be ashamed of what we have! It's just not a proper discussion to have in a public setting where people can overhear us."

Still not getting it, Fuu asks, "But why is not proper and why should I care if others hear us?"

Naruto doesn't know how to make it anymore clear, back when she did this kind of thing they were by themselves or with pervy sage who didn't care, actually he just enjoyed it. How can Fuu be so ignorant of social norms? Oh! Right, she was raised in isolation, so she never picked them up and he doubts that Shibuki had to deal with Fuu's interest in the opposite sex, or in her case both sexes.

Sakura understands this, knowing that Fuu's a jinchuuriki and her circumstances, having spied around while working under Lady Tsunade.

Speaking up, Sakura says, "Fuu, it's just how society works and I know that's new to you, but you'll have to try and learn them so that you don't inadvertently offend someone. I'll answer all of your questions about it later, so for now lets just eat our food and stop talking about it. Ok Fuu?"

Fuu answers with a smile, "Yup! That's alright with me, so does this mean you're ok with me and Naruto now?"

Sakura answers, "I never had a problem with the two of you dating. I just don't like the direction you're going in it. Lets not have this conversation right now, we'll discuss this later."

With Sakura putting her foot down on that subject, they moved on to have a relaxing meal while talking about their lives, hobbies, likes and dislikes, and the training they've respectfully had. Sakura finds Fuu to be like a more intelligent Naruto with all the same energy and joyful outlook on life. Fuu finds Sakura to be a kind, but short tempered, person with a very high intellect and strong emotional attachments to her friends, who she hopes to be among. Naruto is just glad to see them getting along, considering that they actual started off exchanging blows, and is happily finishing his sixth bowl of ramen.

Naruto is now satisfied with his ramen intake after scarfing down twenty bowls in the time it took Fuu to eat three and Sakura to eat her one bowl. Seeing as everyone is done, Naruto pays for their food and asks, "Hey Sakura! Do you think Hinata-chan is done with her shift yet?"

Sakura pauses for a moment and thinks, putting her right index finger under her lips, before answering, "She should be getting off in about an hour from now. Are you going to wait for her at the hospital now, or wait a while first?"

Naruto answers, "I think I'll head off now so I can collect my thoughts while I wait, and that way you can take Fuu to have that talk you brought up earlier."

Sakura responds, "Sure no problem. Lets go Fuu."

Fuu quickly walks over to Naruto and gives him a deep passionate kiss, before saying, "Thanks for the date Naruto, but next time let it just be the two of us and hopefully ending with us heading back to your place." Fuu proceeds to let go of Naruto to begin following a blushing Sakura, who has a lot of work ahead of her if she wants to get Fuu to understand basic social speaking skills.

With Sakura taking off with Fuu, Naruto heads off to the hospital to meet up with Hinata like he promised, and hopes she takes the whole dating Fuu situation well.

On his way there he thinks about how he went from barely noticing Hinata, to having strong romantic feelings for her. What really got him to the point of loving her was when she wrote him that regardless of whether or not he returns her feelings, that he'll always be the most precious person in her life. How he is the reason that she was able change and find strength in herself when no one else did, and that even if he ends up with Sakura, she'll be happy just knowing that he's happy.

Isn't true love being willing to let them go, so that they can find happiness, even if it's with someone else. If that's true, than Hinata's feelings for him are nothing short of true love, and how could he not fall for someone that cares about him that much. It's just like Fuu's willingness to let him be with Hinata, or Sakura, or both, just to make him happy, except he knows that Fuu is looking forward to experimenting with another girl, so it's not as pure as Hinata's intentions.

He wants to hit himself for nearly missing out on receiving Hinata's love for him. Pervy sage was right, he was too focused on Sakura to see anyone else, but now he sees, and he wont let this opportunity pass him by. As Naruto comes out of his thoughts, he sees a bakery closing up for the night. Remembering one of Hinata's favorite foods and realizing that after coming off a long shift at the hospital she'll be starving, he runs over to baker and asks if he can buy something before he closes up for the night.

Hinata has just gotten off of a near twelve hour shift, consisting of dealing with minor cuts and bruises, diagnosing illnesses, filing medical charts, and performing surgery on critical patients. Today was so busy that she never got to finish her lunch, so now here she is, walking home after being worked to exhaustion and having her stomach growling in protest at the lack of food. Her nose catches the smell of her favorite food, cinnamon rolls, that causes her stomach to growl loudly in hunger and her face to develop a blush.

Naruto drops down in-front of Hinata holding a bag of freshly baked and glazed cinnamon rolls, saying with a light chuckle, "It seems I was right that you'd be hungry after work. I hope I got enough for you Hinata-chan."

Hinata's blush turns full crimson at realizing that Naruto has appeared right in front her, hearing her stomach growling no less. When she looks up from her embarrassment, she ends up seeing a full grown Naruto in his form fitting clothes, showing off his well developed body, causing her to faint while moistening her panties.

Naruto catches her as she falls, making sure not to crush the bag of rolls he bought her, having Hinata in his arms he takes a real good look at her. Hinata's hair is still in the same hime style, but has grown to her lower back and the framing strands have grown to shoulder-length. She now wears a loose fitting, lavender and cream hooded-jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armor, navy blue pants, black, low-heeled sandals, a black medical pouch above her butt, and her forehead protector cloth around her neck is black. Not to mention that her figure has become more womanly, with more pronounced hips and large breasts, even though he never really cared about breast size, he's taking a real appreciation of Hinata's.

Shaking off the lewd thoughts he's having about Hinata, he has to decide what to do with her now, it's not like he can just walk up to the Hyuga compound with an unconscious heiress in his arms. They'd probably attack him, assuming that he harmed her. He can't just take her back to his place, people would think that he kidnapped her with ill intentions and would inform authorities, putting him in hot water. As Naruto's thinking, an idea suddenly hits him, with a plan he carries Hinata in the direction of the academy.

Hinata wakes up, propped up against a tree, surrounded by a familiar clearing of trees. She's having a hard time remembering how she got here, but the wet and sticky feeling in her panties reminded her that she ran into Naruto and fainted after seeing how sexy he's become. She wants to start berating herself for embarrassing herself in front of Naruto-kun after not seeing him for two years. She's worked so hard these past two years to come into her own, finding real strength as a confident kunoichi who'll risk her life for her friends and village, how can she be so weak as to faint from just seeing the love of her life.

Snapping Hinata out of her depression, Naruto asks, "Hinata, are you feeling better?"

Looking up to find Naruto walking out of the shadows, Hinata's face starts to turn red, but she forces herself to focus on Naruto and responds, "Y-Yes. I'm f-fine Naruto-kun. W-Where are we? W-Wait I-I know this place, it's it it's-"

"It's where we first met. I'm sorry for having forgotten." Naruto cut in.

Hinata responds, "I-It's ok Naruto-kun. All t-that matters is that you know now a-and we're friends now." Taking a few calming breaths, she continues, "But why are we here?"

Naruto answers, "Well, you fainted and I couldn't just walk up to your home and say, Hey I found Hinata-chan on the ground! Here you go!, they'd accused me of hurting you. So I figured that it'd be better to just take you here and wait for you to wake up."

Hinata responds, "Ok, but that still doesn't explain why here of all places."

Before Naruto can answer her, Hinata's stomach starts growling again in force, drawing their attention to the fact that she is still very hungry.

Chuckling at Hinata's embarrassment, Naruto says while holding the bag of rolls for her, "Maybe we should eat these cinnamon rolls while they're still fresh? Huh, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata just nods her while trying to hide behind her bangs, hoping not to die of embarrassment. Naruto unseals a blanket to lay down on the ground, some tea to drink, and a lantern for light, setting up an improvised late night picnic. The next half hour is spent with them casually talking about how they've been and catching up, all while enjoying a nice meal together. Hinata sitting in a classic seiza pose and Naruto just sitting cross-legged. Hinata is on cloud nine, enjoying a picnic, all though just randomly put together in a very Naruto fashion, it's a dream come true, he's even added the honorific chan to her name.

Naruto is just trying to figure out how to tell Hinata about Fuu, seeing her practically glowing with her angelic smile is making it harder by the second.

Finding his courage, Naruto says, "Hinata-chan, there's something I need to tell you. It's why I choose to bring you here."

"What is it Naruto-kun?" Hinata said.

Naruto take a deep breath to ready himself before saying, "Well, it's about how me and Fuu are, ah, you know, dating, and have been for a month now."

Hinata feels a sudden stabbing pain in her heart, all this time, with all her hard work, pushing herself to become more than she thought she could, even learning medical jutsu, hoping deep in her heart that Naruto would recognize her efforts and fall in love with her. That's not to say that she did it just for him, she was inspired by him to be better for everyone and everything she loves, but more than anything, it was for herself. She told Naruto and herself that if he was happy with someone else, than she would be happy, but she can't help but feel hurt as tears fill her eyes. She knows all about Fuu from Naruto writing about her, like how she's a jinchuuriki just like him, meaning that Fuu can relate to Naruto even better than she can. It's one of the fears she had when he first brought her up five months ago, but she just didn't want to even conceive the idea of Naruto falling in love with Fuu.

Steeling her resolve, Hinata forces a smile on her face and says, "T-That's good to hear Naruto-kun. I hope she make you happy, and that's all that really matters. I'm happy for you, truly happy.",tears spilling from her eyes.

Naruto can see straight through her forced smile, and can practically feel the pain coming from her words. The fact that she can even force herself to put on that smile for his sake, shows how much she really loves him.

Taking off his forehead protector, Naruto then hands it to Hinata saying, "This is how I know that I love you too, Hinata-chan."

Taking his forehead protector, Hinata's breath catches in her throat, having heard him tell her that he loves her, wondering how his forehead protector lets him know that, she asks, "W-What do y-you mean?"

"Flip it over and you'll see." Naruto said.

Doing what he said, Hinata's eyes widen in shock and her tears start falling faster, but a real smile appears on her face signaling that she understands him. On the other-side of his forehead protector is an immaculately pressed Acacia sewn into the cloth, she then asks, "Does t-this mean that-"

"Yes Hinata. That pressed acacia you gave me means that I accept your feelings. When you first gave it to me, I thought that it was just a gift you made out of your hobby of pressing flowers. It wasn't until one of the women at one of pervy sage's favorite brothels told me the meaning of the Acacia, a love that is true, chaste, and pure that sometimes may be concealed. That was when I realized that you were sending me a secret love letter. So many things went through my head back then, if that meant you are secretly in love with me and how that made me feel. In the end I came to the realization that I had fallen in love with you, but I still loved Sakura-chan, so I sewed the pressed acacia to my forehead protector, concealing my love for you while accepting it into my heart." Naruto confessed.

Hinata can't believe what Naruto's saying, he loves her and has known that she loves him, but he's with Fuu, causing her to ask, "B-But you and Fuu a-are-"

"I know, were together, I love her too" Naruto said.

"Then w-why are you are telling me all of this?!" Hinata cried out.

Here it comes, the part that has nearly gotten him killed by Sakura, so Naruto says, "Because I've also told Fuu how I feel about you and Sakura, back when she told me that she loves me. I didn't want to lie to her about all of my conflicting feels, that I can't stop loving her, you, and Sakura. That she and now you, deserve better than that, to have someone who will only love you, and I'd understand if she didn't want to love me anymore, but Fuu said that she would never stop loving me and she was willing to share me with the two of you. Fuu kind of blurted that out to Sakura earlier, which nearly got me killed by her wrath, so I decided to tell you myself in a place where we could be alone. Then that's when I remembered this place when you fainted, the place we first met. So, Hinata what will you do now? I wont hold it against you if you find me disgusting for wanting to be with more than one per-"

Naruto is interrupted by Hinata's lips capturing his, as she wraps her arms around his neck in a upper-body tackle, Naruto's forehead protector still in her right hand. Naruto only keeping them up by putting his left arm behind him and placing his right hand on Hinata's lower back, as they deepen their kiss with their bodies pressing against each other.

Once Hinata pulls back and catches her breath, her arms still around his neck, while trying to control her rising heart rate, says, "I could never see you as anything other than a handsome and kind-hearted person Naruto-kun. It might not be my preferred choice, but being with you is all I've ever wanted and if having you means sharing you with others, than I will! You just have to promise me one thing."

Naruto asks, "What is it?"

Hinata looks Naruto right in the eyes and says, "That you'll always love me with all of your heart."

Pulling her closer to him, Naruto answers in a sensual tone, "I can't love you any less than with all my heart, Hinata-chan.", sealing his lips to hers.

Gently rolling Hinata on her back, Naruto continues to passionately make out with her, occasionally grinding his erection onto her core, causing her moan out ever so softly. Hinata is lost inside a state of euphoria, she has finally gotten her Naruto-kun, sure she never imagined to be sharing him, but being with him is all she ever wanted. Her hands start sliding down his shoulders to his back and ending at his ass, gripping them hard as he continues to grind his hard muscle into her. Pulling back, Naruto gazes down at the beauty under him, lost in her perfect lavender eyes, as her chest rises and falls in long deep breaths.

Reaching with his right hand to tuck a loose strain of hair behind her ear, Naruto asks, "Hinata-chan, do want me to keep going? We don't have to go any further, we can take our time before going all the way."

Hinata's grip on Naruto's ass loosens as she asks, "Have you had sex with Fuu-san yet?"

Naruto replies, "Yes. I've had sex with Fuu, a lot actually."

Hinata is disappointed not be Naruto's first, but he can still be hers, so she squeezes his rock hard ass, while pulling him closer to her, and says, "Then I want you to my first, last and only, for as long as I shall live.".

Once more pressing her lips to his, their tongues locked in a dance, and their hips grinding into each other. Naruto takes his time, making sure that Hinata is fully satisfied and understands how beautiful she really is. He explores every inch of her body while pushing into orgasmic bliss, focusing on only her pleasure. By the end of it, Hinata has lost consciousness from the sensory overload.

Seeing that Hinata has lost consciousness again, Naruto stands up, pulls on his boxers and pants, then grabs the blanket they were using for their picnic and proceeds to lay-down next to Hinata, who unconsciously latches on to Naruto's side, and covers them up. Naruto makes a shadow clone to clean up the area and gather their clothes up for them.

Naruto then says in a raised voice, "I'm assuming that you enjoyed peeking on us, Fuu!"

Fuu comes out of the bushes, her clothes disheveled and skirt hiked up, revealing that she had removed her panties, and says playfully, "Oh! So you knew I was watching! Aren't you kinky, getting off on being watched."

"No! It's just I didn't want to ruin Hinata's first time by stopping to yell at you!" Naruto said.

Fuu replies, "Hey! Why are you getting mad? We're going to be doing more than just watching each other soon."

Naruto responds, "Because this was her first time and it was meant to be just between the two of us! You got me all to yourself during your first time! It's only fair that Hinata-chan gets the same privilege as you! If this whole harem idea of yours is going to work, than I'm going to have to, and want to, treat all of you equally! Got it Fuu-chan!?"

Feeling ashamed of her actions, Fuu responds apologetically, "You're right. I'm sorry Naruto. Can you forgive me?"

With his temper fading and his voice softening, Naruto answers, "Yes I forgive you Fuu-chan, but don't do it again. You need to remember that you'll have to take Hinata's feelings into account for now on. After all, she only agreed to share me with you, not to have sex with you, so you can't just start getting physically intimate with her. You'll have to get her permission Fuu-chan."

Pouting at the idea of still having to wait to experiment with a woman, Fuu says, "Alright, but if she doesn't budge on it, then we'll have to find someone who will!"

"Fine, fine, but it'll have to be someone we all agree on. Deal?" Naruto said.

"Deal!" Fuu replied

Naruto's clone, after finishing his previous task, disappears just as Hinata wakes up from all the noise caused by Fuu and Naruto. Opening her eyes, Hinata finds herself laying on a half naked Naruto, and with the soreness in her pelvis, she knows that it wasn't just another dream, it was real! She's living her dream come true, but she is knocked out of her euphoria by Fuu coughing into her hand. Looking up at a tan-skinned girl with mint green hair and orange eyes, who's giving her a coy smile, making Hinata's entire body turn bright red.

As Hinata pulls the blanket all the way up to her face, hiding everything but her eyes, Fuu asks, "So, was Naruto everything you hoped he'd be?"

Naruto stands up with Hinata hiding behind him, holding on to his back and wrapping the blanket around her body, says, "Stop teasing Hinata-chan Fuu-chan."

Fuu responds, "I'm not teasing her! I'm just curious if she enjoyed her first time with you as much as I did."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Naruto replies, "Whatever! Lets just drop it! Besides, aren't you suppose to be with Sakura learning social norms or something?"

Fuu answers, "We finished early, so you don't have to worry about me blurting out obscene things in public for now on, but I can't promise that I wont slip from time to time."

Naruto responds, "Well that'll have to do. Now can turn around and cover your eyes while Hinata-chan puts on her clothes?"

Fuu whines, "Oh, spoil sport! There's no fun in that, but fine!", turning around and covering her eyes as Hinata redresses hidden behind Naruto's back, not quite trusting Fuu not to peek.

Naruto says, "Alright Fuu-chan, you can turn back around now. Hinata-chan is descent."

Hinata chooses to speak up now, being more comfortable in her clothing, "So you're Fuu-san, it's great to meet my, um, fellow loves lover. If that's the right description for what we are?"

Fuu replies, "I prefer the term fellow lovers, after all it wont just be Naruto that we love, but each other as well."

Hinata's face develops a blush at what Fuu's insinuating, causing her ask, "W-What exactly do you mean by loving each other as well?"

Fuu happily answers, "That you and I will be having sex too, but we can work our way up to it. Maybe by having a threesome with Naruto for starters, than try experimenting with each other!"

As Hinata starts to go supernova, Naruto cuts in, "What Fuu-chan means, is if that's what you want! No one is pressuring you into anything, all you have to do is get along with each other."

Fuu bashfully says, "Yeah, that's what I meant. I was just getting ahead of myself, sorry Hinata."

Hinata replies, "T-that's ok. I should have figured as much, having j-joined a harem."

Clapping his hands together, signifying the end of that discussion, Naruto says, "Alright, seeing as that problem is solved, Hinata-chan, I think that you should be heading home now. It's gotten really late and your family is probably worried about you. We can talk about this more when we have more time."

Suddenly realizing that she was due home over two hours ago, Hinata worriedly says, "Your right! I need to get home before father-sama sends a search party after me! Goodnight Naruto-kun, Fuu-san, see you later.", before she runs off, Naruto gives her a light kiss goodbye and a promise to talk more about everything.

With Hinata gone, Naruto gets fully dressed, and leads Fuu to his apartment, where Fuu ends up having Naruto relieve her sexual frustration at seeing him plow Hinata. It goes with out saying that Naruto and Fuu will be late to meet up with their team to receive their first mission together.

Unbeknownst to both Naruto and Fuu, is that a pair of unseen eyes had witnessed everything that happened in that clearing!


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By: FallenDispair

Chapter: 5

I DON'T OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/10/19**

Naruto wakes up with a nude Fuu on top of him, his body still a little soar from the vigorous sex he had with her last night, he smiles down at the peacefully sleeping form of Fuu, loving the way her body is pressed up against him with her face slightly buried in his chest. The sun was shining through his window, lighting up his dark room and making him aware of the clock on his nightstand, showing him that they where an hour late for them to meet up with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei.

Gently shaking her awake, Naruto says softly, "Hey Fuu, it's time to wake up. We need to meet up with our team for our first mission."

Opening her eyes and resting her chin on Naruto's chest, Fuu looks up at him with clouded eyes and a confused look on her face, before realization at Naruto's words hit her.

She jumped out of bed, unconcerned with her own nudity, and yells out in excitement, "All right! My first mission, with my own teammates no less! Come on! We got to hurry Naruto! I don't want to be late!"

Chuckling lightly, Naruto says, "Relax Fuu, Kakashi-sensei is always at least two hours late, so we still have an hour before we are really late. Lets shower and eat some breakfast before we go running out of our apartment.",

Naruto had told Fuu last night that this was no longer just his place, but hers too and that they'll find a bigger place once they take on some missions, saving up the money needed to change residences. He also went into how that since they are jinchuuriki, it'll be hard to find someone willing to rent out a place for them, so they might have to save up to buy a house and that'll take longer. Fuu wasn't upset with having to share the small apartment with him, because it was their first home together and that's what mattered most to her.

Fuu responded suggestively, "Fine, but only if you join me in the shower."

"If I do, then we'll definitely be late for our team meeting." Naruto replied.

"That's fine by me, Na-ru-to-kun." Fuu said seductively while walking to the shower, her hips swaying sensually and her beckoning him to fallow her with her index finger from over her shoulder.

Not one to pass up such an invitation, Naruto rushes in after her, eager to continue their late night escapades. The next hour is spent with his bathroom being filled with steam, moans, grunts, and eventually them getting clean, but most definitely refreshed.

Sakura is waiting by herself, pissed off that not only is Kakashi late, that's to be expected, but both Naruto and Fuu have yet to arrive! What in the hell could be taking them so long-, wait, she has a pretty good idea as to what is taking them, they are probably fucking like rabbits, forgetting what time it is! To be honest, she can't stop thinking about what she saw in the woods last night. Catching Naruto plowing into Hinata like a stud desperate to mate a mare, but instead of stopping him or just leaving in disgust like she thought she would, she ended up quietly watching in the tree she was hiding in.

She had followed Fuu after their discussion on proper etiquette in public and professional settings, hoping to find Naruto just talking to Hinata, not engaged in sex! She is not sure as to why she wanted to spy on Naruto's conversation with Hinata, it's not like she is jealous of Hinata getting Naruto's affections! The affections that he used to reserve just for her, but was now sharing with others and was even now trying to cut her off from. Granted that she was the one who, with a punch and harsh words initiated, but it still hurt. She just figured that he'd shake it off, like all of the other times, and come back to her begging for a date, but this time there are others waiting to take her place and he notices them now.

Why is she even feeling this way? Naruto is just her idiot friend who makes her happy about herself, not an actual option for dating, like her Sasuke-kun is! Yet she couldn't stop herself from fingering herself while Naruto was fucking Hinata, trying to match his pace with her fingers, imagining her being in Hinata's place! Sure the sex looked amazing and Naruto is hung like a horse, but it wasn't about that. It was how he would softly caress Hinata's cheek while giving her this loving look that she longed for, a look she wished Sasuke would give her.

What she really wanted was the love and tenderness Naruto was giving Hinata in that moment. That was when the fear struck her, right after achieving her orgasm with Naruto and Hinata, seeing the loving way he held her, made Sakura confront what Naruto was for her. Naruto was her safety net, the guy on her hook that she kept around to fall back on, with him gone, she'd be left with no one to catch her if Sasuke rejected her. Sure Lee would probably jump at the chance, but she didn't feel anything for him. She didn't find him attractive and their is no chemistry between them, not like the kind she has with Naruto, plus Naruto went from a small loud-mouthed goofball to this tall, dark, and handsome young man that makes her core hot in desire.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Sakura is yelled at by Naruto, "Hey Sakura! Sorry we're late! Fuu and I lost track of time, but it seems that we still beat Kakashi-sensei at least!"

Flustered at the perverse thoughts that were going through her head, Sakura stutters out, "Y-Yeah, n-no problem. I guess with how late Kakashi-sensei is, we should all just arrive an hour or two late to save on having to wait for him."

Naruto replies with a laugh, "Yeah! That's what I was telling Fuu this morning."

Fuu chimes in, "So our sensei is always late?"

Sakura answers, "Yup! He's always been that way, even when we first became genin."

Fuu asks, "Then how much longer do we have to wait before we can go on our first mission together?"

"I'm afraid that'll have to wait until tomorrow Fuu." Kakashi said, surprising all three of them as he appears out of nowhere.

"Damn it Kakashi-sensei! Don't scare us like that!" Naruto yells out.

Kakashi calmly replies, "Then do better at detecting my presence. You should take this as a lesson, you never know when someone will get the drop on you, so never let down your guard."

Sakura responds, "Yes Kakashi-sensei. Now what do you mean that we'll have to wait until tomorrow?"

Kakashi answers, "Well, I was procrastinating on the new team's paperwork and by the time I finished, the platoon registration office was closed, so I was only able to turn them a few minutes ago. It'll take about a day for them to be processed, so spend today catching up and showing Fuu around the village. Bye." With that said, Kakashi left in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto says with a deadpan face, "He probably just spent the night reading his book and only just finished our paperwork."

Sakura replies, "Yeah, most likely. Well, seeing as we have the day off, I'm going to visit Ino at her families flower shop. Bye you guys, see you tomorrow.", she then runs off to Yamanaka Flowers.

Fuu asks, "So what are we going to today Naruto?"

Naruto answers, "Seeing as we have the time, I want us to talk to Hinata about what happened last night." With that, they both head off to the Hyuga compound to find Hinata.

Sakura finds herself heading into Ino's shop, planning on asking her for advice on Naruto. Ino has always been her confidant, even though she's also the local gossip queen, helping her get through some tuff topics, except for anything relaying to Sasuke. Opening the door to the shop, Ino drolls out for the millionth time, "Welcome to Yamanaka's Flowers! How may I be of service to you today?"

Yamanaka Ino is a young women of Sakura's age with fair skin, blue eyee, and long platinum blonde hair worn in a ponytail that goes down to her waist and bangs covering the left side of her face and sports a red clip. She is wearing a purple outfit consisting of a high-collared blouse and matching apron skirt, her midriff exposed and wears mesh armor on her thighs, elbows, and knees. She also has studded earrings.

"Well you could tell me whether or not you're going on a break." Sakura playfully said with a smile.

Ino replies happily, "Oh! Sakura! Yeah sure, I can go on break for a bit, it's a little slow today. Come on back. Hey! MOM! I'm going on my break early!", before getting a response, Ino leads Sakura the back room.

It's a small room with a refrigerator, a sink, a prep area for flower arranging, and a table with three chairs to eat her lunch at.

After grabbing drinks for the both of them and taking a seat across from Sakura, Ino asks, "Ok Forehead, what's the problem now?"

Sakura playfully fires back, "Well Ino-pig, I have a life, so it does tend to come with problems."

Ino replies with the same playfulness, "Yet you always have to come running to the ever wise and exceptionally beautiful me! That's how I already know what is that bothers you."

Sakura responds, "Oh really? Please do tell."

Ino states, "It's about Naruto and Fuu's relationship, and how it makes you feel, right?"

A shocked Sakura asks, "How could you possibly know that already? He has only been back for little over a day!"

Ino laughs into the back of her hand and replies, "Oh come on Forehead! I am the Gossip Queen of Konoha, there is very little that I don't know! Like how Naruto's apparently forming a harem and has failed to acquire you, but succeeded into adding Hinata."

"Wait! H-How d-do you know that and be serious Ino?!" Sakura yelled back.

Ino says in a matter of fact tone, "Well, the part about him asking you was easy with how you punched him and yelled your lungs out at him in public. That's also how I found out about his and Fuu's harem idea. As for Naruto bagging Hinata, well, that's was simply deducing the fact that she has always loved him and how she showed up late at the Hyuga compound with a limp, and her clothes smelling of sex. Before you ask how I know that about Hinata, I'll tell you that I saw her limping home and have a good source with one of the Hyuga's branch members that are in charge of the household chores, so she told me about her clothes."

Sakura mutters, "Man, word does get around fast in a hidden village."

Ino replies, Yup! Now tell me what exactly is your problem with Naruto."

Sakura explains, "For starters, he's making a harem, that's sick! Then the way he goes off on how he's in love with me, Hinata and Fuu, who could possibly say that they love someone while loving someone else? I'm right aren't I?"

Ino takes a sip of her drink before responding, "I can't say that loving more than one person is wrong, many people have this kind of dilemma, but most typically choose one person to love. So I can understand your reaction to his love confession, but I have to tell you that he's not the only one in the history of Konoha to do such a thing."

A surprised Sakura asks, "What?! What do you mean? I've never heard of anyone having a harem, outside of Feudal Lords, and especially not people in Konoha!"

Ino explains, "In the past many clans, mostly those with kekkei genkai, have taken on practices to increase their bloodlines by having multiple partners. It was largely popular during the warring clan era, but has been used as recently as the last shinobi war. My own clan has invoked that right in the past when our clans numbers fell drastically due to war. Though, it was more and long the lines of simply producing offspring and had no real feelings involved."

Sakura responds, "Yeah, ok, but that was during times that military power was greatly needed, and that was for kekkei genkai carrying clans, Naruto doesn't have a kekkei genkai or comes from a clan. What he's doing is just for perverse reasons!"

Ino gives a small frown at Sakura for not knowing about her own teammate and friend's history, before replying, "Actually your wrong on both parts. For starters, the right for a clan to increase their numbers can be invoked at anytime that their numbers fall low enough, not just in times of war, just like the near complete loss of the Uchiha clan. Meaning that if Sasuke-kun wanted, he could do the same thing as Naruto. Secondly, my father has told me that the Uzumaki clan was once one of the strongest clans in the world, a cousin clan of the Senju, and were Konoha's closest allies. We even still wear their clan symbol on our village's uniforms, that's how close they were to our village, even though their village was destroyed and the few survivors are scattered around the world. If I remember right, my dad said their kekkei genkai was having large amounts of life energy that could be used in several unique techniques, the famous ones being sealing jutsu that every nation wanted and feared. So sorry Forehead, but Uzumaki Naruto falls in the same category as Uchiha Sasuke, and can invoke the right to have multiple partners to revive his clan. I'm surprised you didn't know any of this, seeing as he's your teammate."

Sakura is flabbergasted at Naruto apparent heritage and how she never even considered that he could have a heritage like Sasuke, but it wasn't in any of the history books back in the academy, so it's not all her fault. Then again, it's not like she ever tried to get know Naruto that well, even after he told her about his mother and father, practically giving her a blaring sign at his importance, but all she ever looked for was information on Sasuke.

Trying to explain herself, Sakura says, "Yeah, but nobody told me that and it wasn't even in the history books! Besides, Naruto never said anything about it, he probably doesn't even know himself, so I'm still right! He's just being a pervert!"

Ino smugly replies, "You're right. He doesn't know about his rights as a clan survivor, but that doesn't excuse how you haven't taken anytime to get to know about him, your own friend and teammate, yet I bet you know everything about Sasuke-kun and his clan."

Sakura rebuttals, "Yeah, well, how are you any different?"

Ino replies, "Because I actually have taken the time to also learn about both Choji and Shikamaru, and their families. I might be just as interested in Sasuke as you, but I still have room in my heart for my friends."

Sakura snaps back, "I care about my friends too!"

Ino snaps back, "Then why do I know more about Naruto's clan than do?! The moment he told me about his family I asked around about the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki! What about you? HUH?!"

Sakura just shamefully looks down at the ground, unable to respond as to how someone that's not as close to Naruto as she is, has more interest in him than she does, yet has the same feelings for Sasuke.

Ino continues, after calming down at seeing Sakura's shamed look, "I really think your problem is that Naruto is moving on from you. He is no longer there to hold you up like he use to, a back-up plan or safety net if Sasuke doesn't pan-out for you. I can understand it, he's always been chasing after you, boosting your confidence. Now that he has other options, you're scared that he'll just leave you alone, and seeing him being intimate with other girls is making you envious."

Sakura speaks up, "I-it's just that when I saw him with Hinata last night I-"

Ino cuts in with shocked surprise, "Wait a minute! You watched Naruto having sex with Hinata!"

Sakura's face turns crimson at her slip up, hoping to trick Ino, she stutters out, "N-n-no! I-I meant t-that w-when s-she, um, he, uh, I-I m-mean-"

Ino bursts out in laughter, holding her sides and crying at Sakura's embarrassment, befor calming herself enough to say, "Y-you pervert you! Bitching and yelling at Naruto for being perverted, yet you actually peeked on him having sex with Hinata! You are such a hypocrite!"

Sakura yells back, "I-I didn't mean to peek on them! It's j-just that when I saw it, I-I couldn't look away!"

Ino just give Sakura a coy smile while saying, "Oh! So is he hung then? Too delicious of a body to look away? Come on, give me the details!"

Sakura responds, "W-what the hell is wrong with you?! I-I'm not telling you that Ino-pig!"

Ino playfully replies, "Oh, are you that possessive of him already? Man! He must be packing something really good! If you don't tell me I wont help you, so come on, tell me!"

Sakura bits her lip before yielding, "Fine! He's got be around eight to ten inches and his body is like a solid rock of compact muscle, a firm ass of steel, and stamina that lets him go on and on for what seems like forever. Happy now Pig?!"

Ino answers, "Yup! See, was that so hard? Not nearly as hard as Naruto's apparently monstrously large penis that is!" , she teased.

Sakura pleads, "Will you please stop messing with me, this is serious!"

After Ino lets off a few more laughs at Sakura's expense, she replies, "Alright, alright. Now where were we? Oh yeah, you had just caught Naruto-kun plowing Hinata, right?"

Trying to ignore Ino adding the honorific to Naruto's name, Sakura says, "Yes. What I was trying to tell you was that when I saw how he tenderly held her, touched her, and the loving look he gave Hinata, I felt this heart wrenching pain in my chest. You were right about him being my safety net, but that doesn't explain why it hurts so much."

Ino again just laughs at Sakura's idiocy, gaining her a mean look from Sakura, before saying, "Kami Forehead! For someone so smart, you're very dense! You're in love with Naruto."

Sakura replies, "B-but that can't b-be! I'm in love with Sasuke!"

Ino rebuttals, "Then why does it sound like you're trying to convince yourself more than you are me?"

Sakura pauses to think about her feeling for Naruto, from his smile that fills her with joy, to the way he just seems to have this ability to understand her better than anyone else. She knows deep down in her heart that she loves that fool and is frightened by it. For as long as she has remembered, she has loved Sasuke, but now she has these feelings for Naruto, she doesn't know what to do.

"What am I'm suppose to do with that?" Sakura asked.

Ino answers, "You can either accept his love and join his little harem, or let him go and focus on Sasuke. You can't have Naruto stay by your side while you chase after Sasuke, expecting him to just pass up any chance for love just to make you happy. So you need to decide which one of them that you can't live without in your life, the one who's absence would be too hard to bare."

Sakura responds, "That's it? Just choose one and move on with my life?"

Ino replies, "Yup! You can still be friends, but you can't have the expectations to be dating one while the other just happily cheers you on, waiting for you to maybe change your mind."

Sakura says a little heatedly, "Then why does Naruto get to have more than one lover? Huh?"

Ino answers, "That's because Fuu and Hinata agreed to it. It's not like he forced them to, or is tricking them. Naruto and Sasuke don't seem like the type to share someone with each other. From the sounds of things, Naruto might agree to that, but Sasuke is planning on restoring his, so he wont be sharing his women. At least that's what I think, you could always ask him when he comes back to the village."

Sakura knows that Ino's right, Naruto and Sasuke have always had a rivalry with each other, they'll never agree to sharing her love, not that she really wants that! She's going to have to see which relationship she really wants. The one with Naruto that would be focused on love, but shared with other women while hiding behind the need to restore his clan. Or the one with Sasuke that would be focused on popping out children with numerous other women, to restore his clan, hoping that he'll love her. Somehow Sakura has found herself having to choose between joining two different harems.

Sakura asks, "Ino. What are you going to do when Sasuke builds his own harem to restore his clan? Are you just going to be fine with just popping out his children with others while hoping to win his affections?"

Ino honestly never really thought about it until now. She like many other girls just assumed that they would just marry Sasuke and have his kids, not that he'd be using the CRA,(Clan Restoration Act), to rebuild his clan. She only knew about the CRA recently because of her being the next Yamanaka clan head, and having reached the rank of chunin, she can officially be placed as the next clan head at anytime. It'd only be on the contingency of her fathers death, otherwise they'd wait until he was ready to step down, but it could happen! Wait! She's the head of a clan, would she have to give up her position as the Yamanaka heir to be apart of Sasuke's clan? She knows that their are other members that could take her place, but is that what she wants?

Finally voicing her concerns, Ino answers, "I honestly don't know Sakura. I'm slated for the next clan head of my family and I'm not sure if want to give it up to join Sasuke's clan. I'm not allowed to be apart of two different clans, it goes against the rules of clan politics. I'd have to give up on one of them."

Sakura asks, "Then you can't even have children with someone inside of another official clan?"

Ino answers, "No, not necessarily. I can have children with Sasuke, but I'd have to decide to either have them be members of the Yamanaka clan or Uchiha clan, so that their interests wont conflict between one clan over the others."

Sakura says, "I get it. There can't be a clan head that is also a member of another clan, it'd cause a conflict of interest in clan matters."

Ino replies, "Yes, I never thought about it before. It seems we both have a lot to think of in the respect of our love interests."

Sakura says, "Yeah. Thanks for the talk Ino, and I'm sorry for bringing up these problems for you. I should go and leave you to think. Bye."

Ino responds, "Yeah, thanks, but don't blame yourself for making me question my relationship with Sasuke-kun. I'd have to confront this problem eventually, so better now than later. Bye Sakura."

With Sakura leaving and Ino heading back to work, the both of them will be faced with revaluating their decisions in their future plans.

Naruto and Fuu are headed to Ichirakus to meet up with Iruka after their talk with Hinata, it had gone well for the most part. Hinata was still fine with being in what is essentially a harem, but she was only interested in being with Naruto sexually, maybe try a threesome farther down the line when she is more comfortable with her own sexuality, but she has no desire to be with a woman that way. Fuu was upset at that part, she'd have to keep looking for a girl that swings both ways like her and that Naruto and Hinata will like. Naruto was just glad that Hinata was taking it so well, he loves her and doesn't want to see her hurt. He's even planned a date with her later that night, it's one of her few nights off and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to take her out on a proper date.

"Hey! Naruto is that you?!" a familiar voice rang out.

Turning around, Naruto sees Shikamaru, a young man the same age as Naruto with narrow brown eyes and his typical bored expression on his face, his shoulder length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail, stud earrings, and is wearing the standard Konoha-nin outfit with customized green-lined mesh armor on his wrists and ankles, and the plate of his forehead protector sewn into his left sleeve.

On his right is Temari, a young women about a little over a year older than Naruto with green eyes and blond hair, which is gathered into four ponytails, and is wearing a short-sleeved black kimono that reaches down to her legs, with slits along the sides and a revealing neckline, a red sash tied around her waist, fingerless black gloves and a black forehead protector with the Suna symbol on her forehead.

Naruto replies, "Hey! Shikamaru! Man, it's been like forever! How have you been?"

Once Temari gets a good look at him, she thinks, 'Wait, is that, that short loudmouth? When did he get so big and fit?! He's a head taller than me now and what is up with those muscles, his clothes are almost painted on!'

Shikamaru answers Naruto, "Yeah it's been a while and I have been good, just having to do a lot of troublesome things for the upcoming Chunin Exams. Did you just get back? And who's that?", he pointed at Fuu standing at Naruto's side.

Naruto responds, "Nah, I got back yesterday and this is Fuu, my girlfriend and newest addition to Konoha's forces! Fuu this Shikamaru and that's Temari, Gaara's big sister.", he then wrapped his right arm around Fuu's waist, pulling her into his side.

Fuu cheerfully says, "Hi! It's great to see guys again! You were the proctors at the joint Chunin Exams if I remember right."

Shikamaru replies, "Yeah, that was us and I think you're the girl that was involved in the whole mess with Gaara during the exams."

Fuu simply says, "Yup, that was me. I couldn't just let that creep hurt a fellow jinchuuriki. Sorry if I ruined the exams."

Temari replies with a small smile and a little shock, "No need to apologize Fuu. If anything, I should thank you for helping my little brother."

Fuu says, with a little embarrassment at receiving thanks from Temari, "N-No problem Temari, I was just doing what was right and in the end had to be saved by ah, what's his name, oh right, Neji."

Shikamaru adds, "You're the jinchuuriki from Taki that our village excepted then. I heard from my father about you, I didn't expect to run into you so soon. Let alone to have already met you before, and that you're dating Naruto."

Fuu leans up and kisses Naruto on cheek before saying, "Yup! I'm a jinchuuriki and proud! I'm also thankful for Konoha for taking me in after being betrayed by my village, and I'll strive to do my best as a kunoichi of Konoha! And yeah, me, Naruto, and Hinata are one big happy couple! He did save me from the Akatsuki and we kind of just fell for each other afterwards."

Naruto groans while face-palming, Temari's face turns red with mixed embarrassment and confusion, while Shikamaru asks with equal confusion, "What do you mean by you, Naruto, and Hinata?!"

Naruto cuts in before Fuu can cause a repeat with what happened with Sakura, telling Shikamaru and Temari all about his strange and complex relationship. From his falling in love with Fuu and their decision to include the others that he fell for, to his recent adding of Hinata last night. He had to stop Fuu from blurting out about the sex a few times, but in the end he was able to convey the whole situation to them with a few added comments by Fuu.

Temari yelled out, "But that's just so weird and wrong!"

Naruto stops Fuu from snapping at Temari by saying, "Look, I know that it's unconventional and is viewed upon as sick, but it's what we are and I don't expect anyone to understand or to even except it. All I ask is that you keep your opinions to yourselves and don't harass us."

Shikamaru is calmly thinking while Naruto and Temari exchange words, thinking about how the rumors of Jiraiya's perversion are true, and how Naruto and Fuu seemed to have been affected by him. He also takes into the account of Naruto's heritage and the laws giving him the right to do it. Not really caring what Naruto does in his personal life, he decides to just ignore it, but it looks like Temari and Fuu are about to explode, so he's going to have to calm them down.

Speaking up to prevent the argument from getting too heated, Shikamaru states, " So you're invoking the CRA to allow you to restore the Uzumaki Clan then. It's rare for it to be used nowadays, but you definitely meet the requirements and I don't see the Jonin Council or the Clan Council from preventing it. Good luck to you on that endeavor Naruto, it sounds really troublesome to me."

At Shikamaru's statement, all three of the others just stop talking and look at Shikamaru with confused looks plastered on their faces. Naruto's eyes scrunch up into slits while he just scratches the side of his head, obviously clueless to what the CRA is. Breathing an annoyed sigh at having known that Naruto would be clueless, Shikamaru goes into a long drawn-out explanation of the CRA, from it's origins to how it applies to him. By the end of it, Temari and Fuu understand, one barely able to except it and the other is ecstatic about it, while Naruto seems to still be unsure as to what it means.

Knowing Naruto, Fuu explains exuberantly, "It means that there is a law that protects our relationship and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it! People will have to except it and we can even add more people to our harem! Isn't that great!?"

Naruto replies, "Yeah, I guess, but I never really cared to restore my clan. All I ever wanted to do was to become Hokage and have a big family with the women I love."

That comment got Temari to relax a little about Naruto, it's one thing to be creating a harem for pleasure and power, but he seemed to be just doing it because he is actually in love with Fuu and Hinata. She still doesn't like the idea of it, but she wont judge them for it either.

Shikamaru adds, "Yeah, and like I said, it's going to be troublesome. You're going to have to build a district or compound for the Uzumaki Clan, file a large number of paperwork, start producing a product or service benefitting Konoha, and start participating in clan meetings."

Naruto yells out, "What!? How am I suppose to do all that? I don't even have enough money to buy one house, let alone an entire district!"

Shikamaru replies, "Uh, so troublesome. Relax Naruto. I'm pretty sure Lady Hokage will help you out with the paperwork and procedures. As for the necessary funds to build a district, the village has a joint clan fund to pay for such things, but there are rule about how access it and there are certain obligations you'll have to fulfill once your clan is back on it's feet. I suggest that you go talk to the Hokage about this when get the chance, but you don't need to really worry about it right now, such things always takes a few years to complete."

Naruto breaths a little easier and says, "Ok. It still sounds like a lot of work, but if it means I can stay with Fuu and Hinata, then it'll be worth it! You know!"

Fuu adds, "Of course it will! We'll get be one big happy family and that's worth any hardship we will have to face!"

Naruto then decides to change the topic by saying, "Thanks for the help Shikamaru! Anyways, are you two on a date?"

Shikamaru answers in his usual bored tone, "Not. Even. Close."

Temari adds with humor laced in her voice, "Oh please, like I would ever? It's almost Chunin selection exam time again, and I've been acting as liaison between Suna and Konoha."

Shikamaru continues, "I'm being FORCED to act as exam proctor, so I was ordered to escort the Suna ambassador, that's all."

Naruto gains a nostalgic look and comments, "The chunin exams, huh. Brings back memories."

Fuu replies rather confused, "Why? Temari is a beautiful woman and you'd be lucky to end up with her, Shikamaru! I can see why she might not want to be with a lazy guy who is out of his league, she's way better looking than you."

Temari's face turns crimson while she also tries not to laugh at Shikamaru's irritated face when he replies, "It's not about looks Fuu, we are just not interested in each other that way, so just drop it."

Fuu just shrugs her shoulders and says, "Fine. I was wondering, but I'll let it go. It's none of my business anyways, at least that's what Sakura says about being proper."

In an attempt to change subjects, Shikamaru asks, "Oh! What are you going to do about the exams, Naruto? You're the only one in our year who isn't a chunin."

Naruto replies, "Yeah I know. Kiba kept on reminding me every time one of you guys made chunin. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do about it, me and Fuu can participate but Sakura can't. We will have to find a replacement for her, but I don't know who to ask. Eh! I'll just wing it when it comes down to it."

Temari says, "That's a really lazy way to go about it. I can't believe Gaara is so inspired by you, Naruto."

Naruto responds, "He-he-he. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't like sweating the small stuff. By the way what is Gaara up to nowadays? Is he leading a team of genin or something?"

Temari answers rather shocked, " What!? You haven't heard that Gaara is Suna's Kazekage now! Have you been living under a rock or something?"

Naruto is dumbfounded at that news, his friend and fellow jinchuuriki is the Kazekage of Suna! Gaara has already reached the same position in his village that Naruto wants to achieve for himself! At first he wants to get angry and jealous at Gaara, but he can't help but imagine how hard it must have been for him to overcome all the hatred of his village to be recognized as the Kazekage. It's inspiring, and he was just whining about how hard it'll be to restore his clan, he needs to suck it up and push himself if he wants to catch up to Gaara.

Naruto replies with a genuine smile, "That's great! It must have been hard, I'm glad to see him doing so well. But I'm not about to just sit around and let him leave me behind! I'm going to be Hokage soon and we'll work together to help both our villages! Ya'Know!"

That brings smiles to all of their faces as Shikamaru says, "Typical Naruto. Well it's been good to see you again, but we have to go, a lot of troublesome work awaits us. Bye Naruto, Fuu."

With that Shikamaru and Temari leave to continue their work on the chunin exams, but they'll end up facing the question of their feelings for each other, brought up by Fuu. Lets just say that by the end of their day they both will be leaving with less work done and satisfied grins.

A few hours later, Naruto and Fuu find themselves at Ichirakus, eating a bowl of ramen with Iruka and surprisingly Shizune. They both look the same as when he last saw them, the same looks, clothes and hair cuts, Shizune in her kimono outfit this time. They had already had the annoying conversation about Naruto's harem and how he's going to be enacting the CRA to restore his clan. Though a bit apprehensive, they both yielded to his argument and even offered some advice, like helping to start the paper work and explaining anything he didn't understand.

As it turns out, Iruka and Shizune have gotten really close these past two years, they are now engaged to be married with the wedding to be sometime this spring. Iruka asked Naruto if he'd be his best-man and Naruto happily excepted, glad to see that two of his precious people are finding happiness together. It seems that incident with Naruto's seal two years ago got Shizune to blow off some steam at a local bar that Iruka was at. They talked about being worried for Naruto and the difficulties of their jobs, which eventually lead them to really getting to know each other. Over time they would keep meeting up with each other when they could, until they ended up sleeping together, and it was history from there.

Naruto told them all about his training to saving Fuu from the Akatsuki and even boasting how he was probably stronger than they were now. They joked about how he shouldn't push luck, even though they thought to themselves that with the Hirashin he was most likely stronger then they are. Naruto was also happy that they both came to like Fuu, saying that she reminded them of a more refined version of him, a kind and hard working individual with a pure heart. The ramen stand was filled with stories, laughter, and kindness, up until Naruto had to leave to meet up with Hinata for their first date.

Naruto was waiting outside the Hyuga compound at 7:55 PM, he promised to pick her up by 8:00 PM, dressed in a simple orange untucked collared dress shirt, black slacks and sandals, and his forehead protector tucked into his pocket. He was pacing back and forth, surprisingly nervous about going on his first date with Hinata, even though they've already had sex as Fuu pointed out to him earlier.

Fuu is out buying some extra gear for their first mission tomorrow, but Naruto knows that he's going to find her waiting for him on their bed, wearing a new skimpy piece of lingerie, planning on keeping him up late again. He stops his pacing when he hears approaching footsteps, turning to see Hinata dressed up in a beautiful classic lavender kimono with long sleeves, a revealing neckline, a purple sash tied around her waist, and it reaching down to her ankles where she is wearing an expensive pair of Zori.

Naruto feels suddenly underdressed, apparently Hinata went a little over the top for their first date, luckily he had Hinata set the reservations at a high-end restaurant where such attire was welcome. Plus he highly doubts that any respectable place would except a reservation made by him, but they'd never turn down someone from the noble Hyuga clan.

Naruto shake himself out of his stupor and says, "Wow! Hinata-chan you look beautiful tonight. I feel kind of underdressed, like I'm just some peasant trying to empress a princess."

Hinata flushes a bright red and replies, "Thank you Naruto-kun, but don't ever refer to yourself as a peasant, you're much more than that. You're the man I love and that's all that matters, not how well you are dressed."

Naruto bashfully rubs the back of his head as he says, "Yeah, you're right. All that matters is that we love each other. Now come on, we have a reservation to keep.", extending his right arm out for her to grab.

Hinata happily grabs his offered arm and leans lightly up against him as they walk off to the highest priced restaurant in town, causing her to ask, "Are you sure you want to take me to such a fancy place, it'll cost a lot and it's just our first date?"

Naruto chuckles lightly while answering, "The cost doesn't matter and besides it's our first date! I want it to be special. I did something similar with Fuu on our first date, it's only fair that I do the same for you."

Hinata leans deeper into Naruto arm as she says, "I guess you're right and if you really insist, who am I to complain."

As Naruto continues on to their destination, he suddenly stops, feeling the Hirashin mark on Gaara activate for a split second, only to disappear in that same moment. He wonders if he felt that, or if it's just more of the jitters from being on his first date with Hinata. He focuses on the Gaara's mark, only to feel nothing, meaning that he must be fine, because he built a failsafe that would unseal his mark in the event of his death. The fact that he can't feel it must mean that Gaara must have unintentionally used it and shut it back down, probably just the stress of being the new Kazekage, his seal-work is still in need of improvement. He'll have to work on it later and find time to update Gaara's Hirashin mark.

A concerned Hinata asks, "Naruto-kun are you ok?"

Naruto reassures her, "I'm fine. I just thought I felt something, it must be my jitters at going out with a beauty like you."

Hinata practically buries her face in Naruto arm as she gives a muffled response, "Y-you flatterer you.", that bring a laugh out of Naruto.

Their date went off great, event though he was met with harsh stares and snide remark, they still served him because they'd never survive rudely turning down the Hyuga heiress. The Hyuga clan was the wealthiest clan in all of the land of fire, outside of Feudal Lords and the Daimyo, they could sink any business dumb enough to insult them.

Hinata talked about how even though her father didn't like her being in a polygamous relationship, he was happy that she would be eventually joining the Uzumaki clan. When Naruto asked why, she said that was because if she stayed in the Hyuga clan, either her or her sister would have to be branded with the Caged Bird Curse Seal. Despite how hard her father is on her, he still loves her and doesn't want to have to brand her. With her being apart of another clan, there would be nothing the Hyuga clan could do to impose anything on her, as so was decreed back during the founding of Konoha. Naruto was glad to hear how his selfish desire was helping her, but he still planned on getting ride of that curse jutsu when he became Hokage, or at the least change it so that the main household couldn't use it to control the branch household, by using his growing skills in sealing jutsu.

That got Naruto to ask, "Hey, Hinata? How can your clan's main family maintain it's numbers if you keep sending members to the branch family?"

Hinata explains, "We don't do it all they time, or even with every main family household. It's typically only done with heirs of the clan head, and only if the strength of the first born isn't greater than their younger siblings. Like with my father and his twin brother, they were of equal strength and ability, so to prevent a rivalry for the clan head position the seal is used on the younger , if left uncheck their rivalry could have torn apart the clan, like it had in our clan's history."

Naruto responds, "So it's to prevent conflict within the main household of the Hyuga clan, but why would you or sister be branded? I don't see you fighting your sister."

Hinata answers, "It's because Hanabi is considered to be stronger than me, and has a stronger Byakugan than my own. So, despite my birth right, most in the main household want Hanabi to succeed our father, and because of that dissention in our clan's politics, one of us will have to be branded to prevent conflict in the issue."

Naruto gently squeezes her hand while saying, "I'm sorry that you had go through all that. I'm glad that my selfishness is helping to end that stupid argument, and that it is preventing them from branding either of you."

Hinata smiles at him while responding, "Thank you Naruto-kun. I'm happy that my getting to love you solves my clan's problem, and keeps my little sister safe."

Wanting to move on to a cheerer note, Hinata went into how her gentle-fist has improved to the point that she's able to give Neji a run for his money, still not at as skilled as he is, but still great. She often says that her improvement is partly thanks to Naruto's support in her, even though he tells her that is all due to her own efforts. The rest of their meal was filled with laughter and joy, Naruto not caring that most of the other patrons and staff were giving him hate-filled looks. All that mattered to him was that Hinata-chan was happy, with her beautiful smile and laugh, and the way she lovingly looked at him, was all he needed. The whole world could hate him at that very moment, but with her like she is, he still couldn't be happier, the rest of the world just disappeared when she smiled at him. Even when the obviously marked up bill was given to him, the food price being doubled and a forced tip of 50%, he still happily paid and left knowing that he made Hinata-chan's life that day.

They took a nice midnight stroll through a nearby park, with the full moon lighting up their path. That was where they stopped to make-out passionately, exploring each others bodies with gropes and tender touches. Hinata felt Naruto's hardened penis stabbing into her hip as she ground against him, moaning softly, hating that she needed to be home soon and could have sex with tonight. Getting a naughty idea, Hinata pushed Naruto down behind some bushes, out of sight from prying eyes.

Landing on his back with a thud, Naruto asks, "Hinata-chan what are you do-AAHH!", he is cut off by her unzipping his pants, fishing out his pillar of hardened flesh, and proceeds to give him a blowjob while fingering herself.

After taking a few deep breaths, Naruto replies, "Wow! Where did you even learn how to do that Hinata-chan?"

An embarrassed Hinata answers, "I've always fantasized about doing this to you, so I practiced with a cucumber, which in hindsight, I should have tried using bigger ones."

Seeing Hinata's release on her fingers, Naruto grabs them and sucks them clean, bringing a blush to her face. Naruto laughs out, "You get embarrassed from that, but not from giving me a blow-job in public!"

That causes Hinata to turn crimson and stutter about how she lost her head and he was making her feel so good that she forgot where they were. Calming her down and cleaning them both up, they head back to the Hyuga compound. Telling Hinata that he loves her and kissing her goodnight, Naruto heads home with a skip in his step.

When he opens his door, he finds a sleeping Fuu in a see-through orange nighty, kami this women will be the death of him someday and he loves it! Naruto quietly showers and slides into bed, tucking him and Fuu under the covers, with Fuu quickly wrapping her arms around him, falling into a deep slumber. He is woken up two hours later by Fuu giving him a wake-up blow-job, where she proceeds to get what she waited for so long to get, keeping them up until near sun rise.

The next morning had gone similarly to the pervious one, with the exception that Naruto and Fuu had arrived the same time as Sakura, Naruto didn't want to piss her off again. Also that when Kakashi had arrived, as per his usual, Naruto had noticed that he was reading an older Make-Out book and asked Kakashi if he was bored of the one he gave him. Kakashi adamantly refused that he'd get bored with any of the books from the Make-Out series, that he had simply loaned out the book to a friend who was also a fan, seeing as he had already read it ten times. With the fact that Make-Out Tactics isn't due to be officially released for another month, he's doing his friend a solid.

No one was buying that, so all three of them grilled him on who it was and why they were so special that he'd deprive himself of his most beloved pastime. Fuu and Sakura came to the conclusion that it must be a women that Kakashi has a crush on, or is already dating, with the way he keeps avoiding the question while sporting a blush. In the end they dropped the subject when they reached the Hokage Mansion to receive their first team mission.

The newly formed team seven is standing before Tsunade in the room where missions are assigned, Naruto yells out in annoyance, "Uh-uh! No way! We're not going on that mission!", causing Kakashi to sigh and Sakura to groan.

Tsunade replies with a humph, "Brat, you do realize WHO you're talking to like that?"

As Kakashi is thinking about how he's going to be taking the heat for Naruto's actions, Fuu is just absent mindedly wondering when they'll go, and Sakura is screaming in her head about how ferocious Lady Tsunade can be.

Iruka sighs out, "Naruto, mentally, you haven't matured at all."

Sakura proceeds to grab Naruto into headlock while apologetically saying, "S-so sorry, milady! I'll speak to him later!"

Naruto barely outers out, "Old Man Third, he was a better Hokage.", while still in Sakura's strangle hold.

Tsunade replies while giving Kakashi the mission, "Excuse me?! What did you just say?!"

Sakura tightens her grip around Naruto's throat, choking him in the process, yells out, "W-Will you quit it!", causing Fuu to launch herself on Sakura, trying to pull them apart.

Fuu yells, "Stop it Sakura! Naruto is turning blue!", while elbowing Sakura in the chest and trying to pry Naruto's head free of Sakura's vice-grip!

Just as a heated fight was about to breakout, the door bursts open with a women from the cryptology department yelling out franticly, "Lady Fifth! T-terrible news!"

As said cryptologist catches her breath, Tsunade irritably asks, "What now?"

The cryptologist continues, "We've received word that Suna's Kazekage has been kidnapped by a member of the Akatsuki!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Fuu are visibly shocked, while Kakashi and Iruka are able to keep straight faces, and Tsunade just calmly takes in the information. Naruto then remembers the feeling he had last night with Hinata, realizing that must have been when it happened, but how could the Akatsuki have a way to counter his Hiraishin mark, that they shouldn't even have knowledge of! Unless one of the council members-

Punching his open left palm, Naruto yells out, "Damn it! I should have known after what happened to Fuu! If I had just been more observant, than I could have saved Gaara!"

As Tsunade pulls back the mission slip she was giving Kakashi, she asks, "What are talking about, Naruto? How could you have- Wait! don't you have a Hiraishin mark on Gaara?"

Naruto answers, "Yes and last night I felt it activate for a split second, only to disappear just as quickly! I just thought that is was nothing, maybe a little stress from Gaara making Kazekage triggering it, but now it seems that he really was in trouble!"

Kakashi asks, "Does the sudden disappearance of his mark indicate the Kazekage's death?"

Naruto answers, "No, I placed a contingency in the custom Hiraishin mark I made for Gaara to activate upon his death, regardless of Gaara's will or the sealing tag I gave to the Suna Council. So Gaara is still alive, but seeing as Gaara has been kidnapped and hasn't activated his mark, means that someone on the Suna Council must have given the Akatsuki the sealing tag I gave them!"

Tsunade speaks up in concern, "You gave Suna, and now the Akatsuki have, the means to counter your Hiraishin?!"

Naruto replies, "No! Just the custom Hiraishin mark I made for Gaara! I changed the formula of his mark so that it can be sealed by only the tag I made for their council. It wont work on any other and can't be altered with having my exact instructions and chakra signature!"

Breathing a sigh of relief at Naruto actually thinking ahead for once, Tsunade then asks, "Could the Akatsuki have used a method of cutting Gaara's connection to the mark, beside the seal tag you made?"

Naruto stops to think for minute, before answering, "Maybe if they used a powerful genjutsu to trick Gaara's mind into thinking that he was ok and didn't need help. The only problem with that theory is that it would still take longer than the split second it took to deactivate his mark. Even if Gaara was hit with a Sharingan genjutsu that could do it that fast, the seal would still take a few seconds to process the change in Gaara's mentality. Only someone slapping on the sealing tag I made would pull it off that fast!"

Kakashi finishes Naruto's thoughts, "Meaning that the Akatsuki members that kidnapped the Kazekage had the sealing tag, that they could have only gotten from a member of the Suna Council. Even if one was just stolen from a member prior to their attack, it still wouldn't explain how they would know about Gaara's Hiraishin mark and how counter it."

Tsunade pinches the bridge of her nose while saying, "Meaning that there has to be an Akatsuki spy in Suna Council! Alright! I'll send this information to Suna, so they can begin investigating on who their mole is. Team Kakashi, I hereby amend your mission. You will leave for Suna now! Assess the situation and report back IMMEDIATELY! Afterward, you'll follow Suna's orders and provide them whatever assistance they require!"

Team Kakashi left, splitting up to head to their respective homes to grab enough gear for a trip to Suna and for any lengthy delays in rescuing Gaara. It only takes them about twenty minutes to gather their gear up into backpacks, that each one is sporting, and meet up at the village's gate, where Tsunade and Iruka are waiting for them.

As they just finished a last check of their supplies and prepare to head out, Naruto says to Iruka and Tsunade, "See later! We're off!", while slightly turning back.

Sakura adds while giving a left handed salute, "I'll make sure that we all return, Lady Tsunade!", knowing that as the teams medic it's her job to keep them alive.

Tsunade replies with a little worry in her voice, "I hope so."

Iruka closes his eyes to push down his worry, knowing that Naruto is no longer a child and has to be able to take care of himself, opening them with resolve says, "Good luck and stay sharp, you're enemies are capable of defeating a kage!"

Naruto replies by turning his head back and saying, "Thanks and I won't let my guard down against the Akatsuki! I've fought them before remember? I even killed one of them, or you know, sealed him up, seeing as he was immortal and all!"

Fuu adds, "Yeah! That was weird, but this time I'm not going to lose! Even if there is another immortal freak in the Akatsuki, I'm going to return the favor for nearly killing me!", very pumped at hopefully getting the chance to take down Kakuzu.

Kakashi says, "Calm down Fuu, you need to remember that you're on a team now, so don't go rushing into fight straight out the gate. I want you to keep a level head and be prepared to setup a link between all of us with your ability when a fight does breakout. Having instant and silent communication will give us an edge in combat."

Fuu replies, "Yes Kakashi-sensei!"

Jiraiya drops in as they are about to head out and says, "Hey! Naruto, you heading out on a mission?"

Naruto answers, "Yup! Though I'm surprised to see you're still alive after Baa-chan sent you flying two days ago, pervy sage! Did you just get out of the hospital or something?"

Jiraiya answer rather perturbed, "Oh! I'm so glad that you care enough to ask, even though no one came looking for me and probably couldn't care less if I had died! But I digress, I had the fortune of landing in a, not to far away from the village lake. I only ended up having a few broken bones and minor bruises, no internal bleed or ruptured organs this time, so I won't add it to number of times I've nearly died!"

Fuu cheerful says, "That's great! Now I don't have to worry about the Make-Out series ending yet!"

Jiraiya responds with a deadpan face and tone, "Well I'm happy to see how much my being alive means to you Fuu. Thanks."

Fuu ignorantly replies, "You're welcome!"

With a sigh, Jiraiya then says, "Anyways, back to the reason I'm here. I have bad news Tsunade. The Kazekage has been-"

Tsunade interrupts, "I know, I'm about to send these four to Suna to assist in the Kazekage's rescue.", while pointing at Naruto.

Jiraiya replies, "Are you sure that's a good idea? Sending two of the Akatsuki's targets to confront them?!"

Naruto speaks up, "Hey pervy sage! Didn't you train me because I'd have to fight the Akatsuki?! Why are you doubting my abilities now?! If they're coming for me and Fuu anyways, I'm going to meet them on my terms!"

Jiraiya waves Naruto over so he can speak to him privately and says quietly, "You are stronger than before, more than I ever thought you be in two years of training, that's true, but if you lose your cool, you'll just dig your own grave. Your quick temper is still your Achilles' Heel."

Naruto bits his tongue on the matter, knowing pervy sage is right, Jiraiya then continues, "Naruto, look, I think you already know this, but you need to be careful when using the Hiraishin. I've noticed during our spars and with your fight against Kisame, that you have a moments pause after using it. If you had truly mastered using the Hirashin like Minato did, then you'd have been able to end that fight in an instant, but you are unable to adjust to the use of it to attack immediately. I'm certain that Kakashi has noticed this as well. Plus, seeing as how the Akatsuki is aware of your ability to use the Hiraishin, they'll not be taken by surprise by it this time."

Naruto replies slightly despondent, "I know, I just can't get passed the vertigo I get when I come out of the Hirashin. Going from one view point to another instantaneously is just too much for my eyes to keep up with, it always takes me a second to get my bearings."

Jiraiya responds, "That's what I thought. That's why it took even a genus like for father, years to get use to using the Hiraishin well enough to use it comfortably in combat. With opponents like the Akatsuki, that one second of adjusting can be a fatal mistake, so don't over use the Hiraishin."

Naruto simply nods his head as Jiraiya walks over to Kakashi and quietly says, "Kakashi, keep an eye on him. Don't let him go too crazy. I'm counting on you!"

Kakashi give Jiraiya a small eye smile and responds, "Don't worry, Naruto's skills are above the average jounin and even with his weakness in using the Hiraishin, it's still very formidable and lethal. But I'll still be keeping my eye on all of them, I am their squad leader and sensei, it's my responsibility."

Naruto starts walking off in anticipation and yelling out, "Kakashi-sensei! Sakura! Fuu! Lets go already!"

Fuu quickly matches Naruto's pace while saying, "Yeah! Lets go! Our first team mission awaits!"

Sakura irritably says, "H-Hey! Wait up you two! We're a team remember!"

Kakashi give a one handed solute and says, "Well, then, we're off."

Both Jiraiya and Iruka looked worried, causing Tsunade to ask Iruka, "Are you worried?"

Letting his worry be replaced by a smile, Iruka answers, "Nah, not anymore, they're no longer weak little shinobi, neither he nor Sakura, and Fuu seems quite capable." Taking a moment to watch Team Kakashi Jump off to Suna with Naruto in the lead, Iruka continues, "Growing up sure is a mysterious thing.", Bringing smiles to Tsunade's and Jiraiya's faces.

As Team Kakashi is speeding through the trees, Sakura takes the time to ask, "Hey, Naruto! What did you mean that you beat an immortal Akatsuki member?"

Naruto answers, "I mean just that! He was this creepy guy who wouldn't die, even when I tore him limb from limb, leaving only his head intact, and even then he wouldn't stop talking crap about kami punishing me!"

Sakura says incredulously, "As a medic, it's hard to believe that to be true Naruto! Are you messing with me?!"

"No I'm not! He even had the ability to curse whoever's blood he drank, so that they'd receive the same damage as him!", Naruto defensively said.

Fuu adds, "Yeah, that's how he beat me! After his partner nocked me for a loop, he drank some of my blood and changed into this black and white state, then proceeded to stab himself inside of a circle he drew in his own blood! I started to receive the same stab wounds as he did!"

Kakashi spoke up, "I've read the report from Lord Jiraiya, along with Lady Hokage's autopsy report, well I'm not sure that it should be called that, considering that he was still alive. Anyways, She wasn't able to figure out how he was immortal, only able to discern that it had something to do with his altered chakra network, nor how to kill him. This Hidan character, was sealed back up and the scrolls hidden after Lord Inochi did a thorough interrogation by using his clans secret jutsu to sort through his memories."

Sakura asked, "Did he uncover any useful information on the Akatsuki?"

Kakashi answers, "No, apparently Hidan was a new member and only had information on a few names of the members and some low level bounty collection houses."

Sakura quickly asked, "What names?! Who are they?!"

Both Fuu and Naruto were listening intently as Kakashi told them the names and descriptions of the members, Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, and Zetzu, along with what little knowledge he had on their abilities. He also reminded them that there are at least two other members that they have no information on and that the ones they do, could have hidden abilities, so they had better not let down their guard.

Before anyone can say anymore, Sakura notices Temari walking down a path right below them and yells out, "Temari!"

A few moments before Sakura had called her name, Temari was lost in thought, she had been going over how she had lost her virginity to Shikamaru yesterday! After their run in with Naruto and Fuu earlier that day, they both couldn't stop thinking about each other and how they felt. Shikamaru lazily tried ignoring it by saying that talking about it was just too troublesome and they should just focus on finishing their work for the upcoming exams. She only had that day to finish up their work before she was due to head back to Suna, to give her report on their progress with the chunin exams.

That had only infuriated her, their work could wait a long enough for them to air out their feelings for each other, and decide if they wanted to be a couple. She isn't exactly sure how, but one minute she was yelling at him for being a lazy coward, to having him pinned underneath her, with her lips consuming his. By the end of the night they had fully enjoyed each others bodies and agreed to become a couple, she stills get a tingle down her body when she remembers how she dominated him as they had sex. It turns out that she's a very controlling lover and Shikamaru is a willing submissive, she loves how he's complete putty in her hands as he groans out her name.

A few moments after Sakura called her name, being filled in on what's happened, Temari yells out in a mix of shock and worry, "What?! Gaara has been kidnaped by the Akatsuki!"

Kakashi replies, "Yes and based on the facts, a member of Suna's council was involved."

Temari remembers how her cup of tea cracked earlier, perhaps as an omen for just this occasion, and responds, "I knew something felt wrong, but for Gaara of all people to be abducted, and with help from one of own must trusted advisors, it's just too much!"

Kakashi replies, "I know it's a lot to take in, but it's going to take three days to get to Suna, so we'd better hurry. You can think about while we're on the move."

Temari shakes off her shock and responds, "Right! Lets go!", with that said, Temari joins team Kakashi and jumps off through the tree tops at top speed to Suna.

As they are off with Naruto in the lead, he starts thinking about how the Akatsuki are hunting him down for just the Nine Tails inside him, bringing a surge of rage through him. He ends up snapping the branch he leaps off of into kindling, rushing forward to the point that he's almost out of view in the span of a second!

Everyone is surprised at Naruto's speed, only Kakashi was able to see more than a blur, so he yells out, "Naruto! No matter how much of a rush we're in, we can't break formation! Clam down and get back here!"

Naruto barely hears Kakashi, but still slows down and returns to his spot in their formation, getting Kakashi to add in a more relaxed and serious tone, "Didn't Lord Jiraiya just lecture you about your temper?"

Naruto grits his teeth before he goes off, "I hate this! The only reason Gaara and me are being targeted by the Akatsuki like Fuu was, and probably still is, is for the Bijuu we're carrying inside our bodies! That's all they want! It's unforgivable! They only see us as monsters! I can't stand the way they look at us! Gaara and I had the same kind of lonely life, but it was even worse for him, because he suffered and fought alone a lot longer! Now the Akatsuki has targeted him, just like they did me! They nearly killed Fuu because they had what they need of the Bijuu inside her, trying to dispose of her like garbage afterwards, and they'll do the same to Gaara! It's not fair! Why should his life be so full of misery all the time?! Why is it always him?! That's why I can't calm down! Whatever happens when we get to Suna, I can't just stand back and do nothing! I have to be there for him! I have to save him!" Tears filling his eyes as he keeps moving forward to save Gaara.

Temari thinks about Gaara's life and how hard it's been for him, but also how much he changed since meeting Naruto. She use to be afraid of her own little brother, but ever since he lost to Naruto, he's become a real loving little brother. Even when the rest of the village still treated him as a monster, he never reverted back, he eventually won most of the shinobi over, becoming the youngest Kage ever! It's all thanks to Uzumaki Naruto's influence on him, and for Naruto having the same type of monster inside him and to have experienced the same childhood as Gaara, she can't thank him enough.

Fuu breaks formation to be by Naruto's side, grabbing his right hand with her left, never breaking their stride, she comforts him by saying, "Naruto-kun, you'll save him! Just like you saved me! I-I had given up when the Akatsuki had me, I knew I was as good as dead and no one was going to save me, but you did! You came out of nowhere and pulled me out of the darkness, and you have filled me up with so much joy and light, that even if I died this very moment, I'd be happy! So don't worry! We'll save him because you have to power change people's lives for the better, just like you did for me, Neji, all of Nami, and even Gaara! With you in Gaara's corner, everything will work out for him, I know it!" Tightening her grip on his hand and smiling at him to strengthen her words.

A small smile forms on Naruto's face as the tears leave his eyes, returning Fuu's grip, he says, "Thanks Fuu. You're right, as long as I don't give up on him, we can still save him! Sorry for forgetting that. I promise to never forget it! Ya'know!"

Happy to see Naruto back to his normal self, Fuu lets go of his hand and falls back into formation. Kakashi is glad that Naruto and Fuu's relationship is actually helping instead of getting in the way, like he assumed it would. Most times a personal relationship can have adverse effects on ones professional life, especially when that relationship is mixed between the two.

Temari is surprised to see how close the two of them are, thinking that their relationship was just based off of kinky sex. Sakura is surprised at how envious she feels at Fuu's ability to soothe Naruto that easily, she's never been able to do that! The next few minutes are spent quietly while everyone is either focused on getting to Suna, or being lost in thought.

Sakura finally speaks up, asking something she's wants to know , "Naruto, you met him once, didn't you? Uchiha Itachi, the member of the Akatsuki that's after you."

Naruto gives a surprised reply, "How do know that Sakura?"

Sakura answers, "I haven't been just training these past two and half years. I secretly read Lady Tsunade's reports, and snuck outside the village to snoop around as much as I could. That's how I found out that the person Sasuke keeps saying he wants to kill, is his older brother Uchiha Itachi, right? That's why Sasuke is with Orochimaru right now, trying to gain more power, but Orochimaru wants Sasuke's body and we only have about half a year left until he can transfer again."

Naruto is once again surprised at how well informed Sakura is, he would never have been able to discover all that on his own.

Sakura continues, "I've also learned that Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki as well. So it's within reason that the closer we get to the Akatsuki, the closer we can get to information about Orochimaru. From there, we get closer to Sasuke. Time is running out, we've only got half a year left to find Sasuke."

Naruto replies, "Yup! I've almost forgotten how smart you are Sakura-chan! I should have known you'd figure it all out, but I need you to remember that right now, my mine priority is saving Gaara! Unlike Sasuke, he didn't willingly put himself in harms way for power. If anything, Gaara probably got himself kidnaped trying to protect his village."

Put back by Naruto's statement, Sakura replies in a shocked and somewhat hurt tone, "But Naruto, Sasuke is-"

Naruto cuts her off, "He's no fool! He's most likely aware of the risks of climbing in bed with a snake like Orochimaru! I'm not saying that I don't want to bring him back, but I trust in his abilities enough to not be tricked into handing over his body to Orochimaru. Sasuke is just using him to get his revenge on Itachi, so have a little faith in him! Gaara is in the most danger now and needs all of our help, not for us to be distracted by information that might lead us to Sasuke!"

Sakura tries to refute what Naruto said, but stops herself because she knows he's right. Sasuke's not stupid nor weak, plus he was the one who put himself in that situation. It hurts her that Naruto has more faith in Sasuke than she does, but that goes to show how much Naruto really cares for him, like a brother. It's moments like this that makes Sakura unsure about her feeling for the both of them, damn Ino and her advise. How is she suppose to decide between the two of them when Sasuke's not here? She'll just have to put it off until she can at least see Sasuke again, to at least see if she still has those strong feelings for him. Naruto has become a lot more mature than she realized, the whole harem thing hurt his case, but here he is, focusing on the mission they're on right now, staying on point. It seems she needs to take a lesson from him and start prioritizing on the most immediate problem and push other concerns to the side until the mission is finished.

Getting back on track, Sakura apologizes, "Sorry Naruto, you're right. I need to stay focused on rescuing Gaara first. I won't mention Sasuke for the rest of the mission."

Naruto responds, "No problem Sakura, and I didn't say that we can't look for information on Orochimaru, but only once Gaara is safe."

That brings a smile to Sakura's face as she says, "Of course!"

Three days later, Team Kakashi and Temari arrive at Suna, and after hearing about Kankuro having been poisoned, they rush off to the hospital. Upon arriving, Sakura and Temari rushed to Kankuro's bed side, while some old lady, that they later learned is one of Suna's honored elders, named Granny Chiyo, the grandmother of Sasori of the Red Sand, attacked Kakashi. Having confused him with his father, the White Fang of Konoha, she went into a rage about getting revenge for her son. Naruto intervened, surprised at how good an old lady like her was, stopping her long enough for her brother to snap her out of it by getting her to realize that Kakashi isn't the White Fang, that he had died long ago.

Sakura ignored them, saving Kankuro by removing most of the poison from his body and using it to make an antidote, impressing everyone there. Once Kankuro regained consciousness, he filled them in on how he was able to get a piece of the enemy so Kakashi could track them down. As Chiyo left to get equipment, Kankuro asked Naruto to save his brother after remembering what Gaara told him about Naruto inspiring him to change and taught him how sharing one's feels with others isn't weakness, but strength. Naruto just brushed it off by saying that it was nothing and that seeing as he's going to be Hokage, the Kazekage can just own him one. When Team Kakashi was leaving Granny Chiyo decided to join them in Temari's place, as she was put on border control in the event of an attack in their weakend state.

Deidara and Sasori enter a cave that seals shut with a boulder, that has a familiar tag on it, as the shimmering form of their ripple eyed leader says, "You're late. Make preparations immediately."

As Deidara's clay owl disappears, dropping Gaara to the ground, he explains, "The jinchuuriki was more powerful than we expected, Hmmm?"

Pain responds by summoning the Gedo statue and saying, "Good. Assemble", using a hand-sign, five other shimmering forms appear on the statue's fingers as Deidara and Sasori jump up on their respective fingers, Pain continues, "Now then, let's begin."

Disappearing and then reappearing on one of the Gedo's fingers while still holding his hand-sign, causing the gage around the statue's mouth to be released, Pain states, "This is going to take three full days. Stay aware of your physical selves. Zetzu, have your physical body stand guard outside. Use the one with the greatest range, we don't won't a repeat of last time, got it?"

Zetzu replies, "Understood"

Kisame speaks up, "Three days? With Hidan gone, shouldn't we maybe allow more time?"

Pain answers, "If you think, we'd better get started and this time we'll start by splitting the bijuu's Yin and Yang chakra. Just incase we are interrupted like last time, but once we have one half and it's confirmed we have enough time, we'll take the other as well."

All the Akatsuki member make the same hand-sign as Pain, causing the fingers they are standing on to glow and a sphere of chakra to appear in the Gedo's mouth.

Pain then says, "Sealing Jutsu! Nine Phantom Dragons Seal!", causing the sphere of chakra from the Gedo's mouth to explode into nine dragons that wrap around Gaara in a burst of light.

With a day having passed, Kakashi's ninja hounds located the enemies hideout in the land of rivers, between Konoha and Suna. Having received word that Tsunade sent Team Guy as reinforcements, he sent Pakkun to give Team Guy all the details while leading them to the Akatsuki hideout, since they're closer having come from Konoha.

Zetzu saw this and informed the others, where they decide to use the same jutsu as before with Kisame. After Kisame intercepts Team Guy, Zetsu than catches sight of Team Kakashi making their approach, having to send someone else to intercept them.

As Team Kakashi comes across a clearing, Kakashi yells out, "Stop, everyone!", standing in their way is non-other than the before mentioned Itachi Uchiha in his Akatsuki cloak.

Sakura asks, "Is that Uchiha Itachi?!"

Naruto answers, "No doubt about that! He hasn't changed at all from the last time I saw him three years ago!"

Chiyo says, "Itachi, yes, he's the boy who murdered his entire clan.

Itachi calmly replies, "Long time no see, Kakashi, Naruto."

Sakura grinds her teeth as her face shifts into a scowl, thinking about how he has sharingan the same as Sasuke and how he's caused both Sasuke and Naruto so much pain.

Naruto yells out, "Who do you think you are?! You come for me, nearly killed Fuu, kidnaped Gaara, I'm gonna take you down!"

As Itachi shifts his stance, Kakashi starts speaking through Fuu's link, {Nobody look directly into his eyes, it is dangerous!}

Sakura asks, {Then what are we supposed to do?!}

Kakashi answers, {Read his movements by watching his body and footwork. His genjutsu is ocular jutsu, basically, he seizes his target with his vision. You will be okay so long as your eyes do not meet his.}

Sakura looks up at Itachi, stopping at his neck before replying, {This is NOT going to be easy.}

Chiyo chimes in, {The Uchiha clan, I have not gone up against the sharingan in a long time. But you do not need to be afraid. Several tactics can handle ocular jutsu.}

Naruto asks, {Well, what do we do?!}

Chiyo answers, {If it is one on one, you definitely run. If it is two on one, get his back.}

Not getting it Naruto asks, {What do you mean?}

Chiyo explains, {If it is two on one, even if one falls under the genjutsu, they can be released if the other gets behind the enemy and lands a hit. If that does not work, you can free your comrade by giving them a whack too. In other words, when you are two or more, one acts as a decoy, then the others attack continuously from the blind spot of the sharingan.}

Sakura replies, {I get it.}

Naruto adds, {There is some old age wisdom for you!}

Fuu asks, {Can't my communication jutsu cancel out any genjutsu effect? My technique sends chakra waves into your bodies, transmitting our thoughts to each other, that should allow me to sense when one of you is caught and then release you by disturbing your chakra flow with mine, that is already in your system.}

Kakashi answers, {Yes, that actually sounds feasible, it is a new and genus way of repelling genjutsu, but I am afraid it wont work with Itachi.}

Sakura asks, {Why?! that theory is accurate! It should work and even if it does not, we can use the method Granny Chiyo stated.}

Kakashi answers, {Itachi uses mangekyo sharingan. It is more powerful than the original sharingan. If you are caught by his ocular jutsu, he has you instantly. It has nothing to do with whether you can defeat genjutsu or not.}

Chiyo comments, {What a nuisance. Who IS he?}

While Team Kakashi and Granny Chiyo are having their telekinetic communication, Itachi is analyzing the chakra waves being emitted by Fuu. Based off there body movements and facial expressions, they are having a communication with each other, so they'll have a plan formed together without him knowing anything about it. Clever. Plus with the way Fuu's waves interact with their chakra, his genjustu will be next to useless, so he'll have to meet them with force.

Back with Kakashi, they are still talking with Fuu's ability, {Fortunately, after using that ocular jutsu, he will be spent. That jutsu requires a considerable amount of chakra, and it seems there is quite a risk to his eyes.}

Kakashi chooses to speak out-loud while lifting his headband, revealing his sharingan, "Itachi, how much of your eyesight have you lost?"

Itachi's eyes widen for a moment before he asks, "Kakashi, are you?"

Kakashi states loudly, "Anyway! I dropped my guard last time, but I learn quickly. I don't make the same mistakes twice."

Naruto smiles before adding, "And if you think I'm the same as before, you're making a big mistake!"

Kakashi states, "I'll take care of him, Naruto."

Naruto's face twists up in irritation before he snaps out, "Is this more non-fighting teamwork?!"

Kakashi answers, "NO. This time I need you as backup. I'd like to send you on ahead, but I don't think I can take him alone."

To test his theory, Itachi tries to put Naruto under a genjutsu using his finger while saying, "It's about time for you to come with me, Naruto.", only for it to be canceled out by Fuu's jutsu disrupting his chakra, like he thought it would.

Seeing that Fuu was able to cancel out Itachi's genjutsu, Kakashi rushes forward while ordering, "Stay back, I'll take him."

While Kakashi is batted back by Itachi, Naruto readies himself for his part of the plan. "Fire style: Fireball Technique!", Itachi launches at Kakashi while he's still getting his footing.

Naruto pulls out one of his sealed scrolls on his left side, throwing it open in front of Itachi's attack while blurring through a series of hand-signs, "Sealing Art: Jutsu Capture Seal!".

As the fireball hits Naruto's scroll, lines of kanji spread out of it, sucking in Itachi's jutsu and capturing it inside the scroll with the kanji for fire appearing in the seals center. Surprised to see Naruto using sealing jutsu powerful enough to capture his jutsu and skillfully executing it in a split second, Itachi just nearly dodges Kakashi's uppercut from underground, having used the Head Hunter jutsu to evade his Fireball jutsu.

Grabbing Kakashi's right arm and pulling it down, Itachi counters with a straight right that Kakashi dodges by tilting his head to the left, where Itachi grabs the back of his head, pulling it down to meet his knee. Kakashi blocks Itachi's left knee with his left hand and grips it hard, locking down Itachi's movements. In a flash of orange, Naruto appears behind Kakashi with his wind chakra coated kubikirkibocho drawn up over his right shoulder for a diagonal slash, flinching for a second to get over the vertigo.

Normally Itachi would have used that moment to evade, but Kakashi's now identified shadow clone, the original having appeared out of the ground as Naruto Hiraishined in, holding him in a vice grip, preventing him from moving. Naruto brings his blade down, cutting through both Kakashi's shadow clone and Itachi diagonally, causing the shadow clone to dispel and Itachi to be split in two, Itachi smiling softy with blood leaving his mouth.

Team Kakashi and Granny Chiyo are standing around the two pieces of a corpse, where Naruto yells, "Damn it! Not this stupid jutsu again! I was hoping that was the real Itachi!"

Sakura asks, "Is this some kind of Akatsuki jutsu or something?"

Kakashi answers, "Yes. Naruto and Lord Jiraiya ran into it when they rescued Fuu. Lady Hokage was able to determine that it is some type of impersonation technique that sacrifices a person's body to allow someone else to remotely control it as copies of themselves. Giving the copies all the jutsu and skills as the original, but with significantly less chakra."

Naruto replies, "That's just messed up! Killing their own people with such an awful jutsu just to slow us down!"

Granny Chiyo utters out in shock, "He's, Yura! A Jonin from our village."

Fuu chimes in, "He must be the traitor that gave the Akatsuki the sealing tag to block Naruto's Hirashin mark on Gaara."

Chiyo replies in disbelief, "It can't be, he served four years at the highest levels."

Kakashi comments, "I'm afraid it fits. We know that someone high up in Suna must have betrayed your village, and seeing as he's here, acting as the sacrifice for their jutsu, he must be the one who did it."

Far away at an unknown location, Kisame and Itachi are sitting cross-legged on top of boulders right next to each other, holding hand-signs as Kisame asks, "You're done too, huh?"

Itachi answers, "Yeah, I'm out of chakra, but that was enough to delay them."

Kisame replies, "Well, we did give the sacrifices thirty percent of our chakra. It's a useful jutsu, but the substitutes are limited in strength and in the jutsu they can use."

Closing their eyes, they reappear as their shimmering forms back at the cave where they are sealing the One Tails, as Pain says, "The jutsu was broken again, but we gained valuable time. That's plenty, giving us enough time to seal the Yang half as well, a complete Bijuu this time. Well done, Itachi and Kisame."

Sasori replies irritably, "That's easy for you to say, but the two who offered their bodies for your sacrifices were my men."

Pain responds, "Hmph, They were Akatsuki members for a short time because of my Art of Impersonation Technique. I would expect their thanks for the privilege. Heh. Heh, it's nearly time."

Back with Team Kakashi, Kakashi states, "The real Itachi is at the Akatsuki lair, this replica was to slow us down and gather intelligence on us, they're good."

Looking at Naruto, Sakura is thinking, 'Naruto, you have been taking on guys like this since we have been apart?'

Chiyo comments, "Yes, it's clear that they were trying to buy time for extracting the Bijuu!"

Naruto just replies, "We already know that! It's what they did to Fuu! We need to hurry if we're going to save Gaara in time!"

Sakura asks, "Wait! I get that Bijuu are military assets, but why do we need to rush to save Gaara? Wouldn't he prefer to be free of the monster inside of him?"

Then looking at Naruto with concern, she also asks, "What can be done to remove the Bijuu from someone?"

Kakashi sighs as he looks at Naruto, who is averting his eyes, apparently he didn't tell Sakura about what happens to the jinchuuriki host when the Bijuu is removed.

Chiyo answers, "Removing a Bijuu requires a sealing jutsu with power that is momentarily equal to that of the Bijuu, and quite a bit of time. But once the Bijuu is removed, the jinchuuriki dies, both of Suna's other jinchuuriki died because Shukaku was removed. That's why we need to hurry if we want to save the Kazekage."

Sakura, fighting back tears, asks, "Then why is Fuu still alive?! Didn't the Akatsuki extract her Bijuu?", while Fuu solenly looks down at her stomach, touching it with her right hand.

Kakashi answers, "Fuu's only alive because they only took the Yin half of the Seven Tails, leaving the Yang half inside of her. Something they probably didn't want to do, but was forced to because of Lord Jiraiya and Naruto's interference."

Sakura yells out with tears in her eyes, "Naruto! Why didn't you tell me that-that, you'll die if the Akatsuki takes the Nine Tails out of you?!"

As Chiyo is shocked that Naruto is Konoha's jinchuuriki, Naruto brushes it off and says, "Come on! We'd better hurry! I'm going to save Gaara!", turning away with a fierce look on his.

Returning back to the Akatsuki, Pain orders, "Zetsu. Take care of the two used for the art of impersonation."

Zetsu replies, "Of course."

Pain than asks, "Itachi, How many enemies and who are they?"

Itachi answers, "Konoha's Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Fuu, the Seven tails jinchuuriki, and Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox's jinchuuriki. Sunagakure advisor Chiyo finishes out their five-man cell."

That causes Sasori to flinch in surprise, wondering why his Granny Chiyo would be involved.

As night falls and Zetsu eats the remains of the two sacrifices, Team Kakashi turns in for the night to rest. Fuu is sleeping on top of an unconscious Naruto, and Sakura sleeping on the other side of the fire, having tuckered out after giving the two of them heated glares. Chiyo is watching over them, thinking about her grandson Sasori and his deceased parents.

Kakashi walks back from his patrol around the camp and says, "Enough break time, we have to get going."

Chiyo replies, "Yes, but first, tell me why would Konoha risk their jinchuuriki to save Suna's? Not to mention adding your village's recently acquired Seven Tails to the same squad as the Nine Tails? It'd make more sense to keep one inside the village for defense at all times."

Kakashi answers, "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that Naruto would have ran off to save Gaara on his own if we hadn't sent him on this mission. This way we can keep an eye on him. As for Fuu, well that's a lot easier, Naruto saved her and they've clearly become very close since, so apart of the deal we made to have her willingly join our forces was for her to be on the same team as Naruto."

Chiyo still not fully understanding, asks, "But that doesn't explain why he'd risk so much for Gaara? He's not even from the same village."

Kakashi explains, "Naruto probably doesn't have any special feelings for Sunagakure, but Gaara is a jinchuuriki too. Naruto understands Gaara better than anyone of Suna ever could. When it comes to how jinchuuriki have been treated, all the villages are pretty much the same. That's why Naruto has to save Gaara, whether it's Konoha or Suna, means nothing to him. To Naruto, Gaara is a comrade who shares his pain.",

Stopping to give an eye smile, he continues, "Naruto's dream is to become Hokage, so when he heard that Gaara became Kazekage, it frustrated him. But, on the other hand, Naruto was sincerely happy for Gaara. Naruto possesses a special power."

Chiyo asks, "What special power is that?"

Kakashi answers, "A power that, without exchanging many words, he can strike up a friendship with anyone."

Chiyo replies after a moments pause, "I've lived long, I've seen many things and I've learned the ways of the world accordingly. And because I've found that alliances with other countries are mere formalities, we needed resources to protect Sunagakure.", pausing again in thought, she continues, "The jutsu that sealed Shukaku inside of Gaara was done by me. I did it to protect the village and the villagers suffered for it. And now the village I avoided and didn't make an alliance with is trying to save us. All the things that I have done, may have very well been mistakes, even worse, I've become decrepit and started giving up on things easily. Kakashi, The young have so much potential within, I envy them." Said while looking at the sleeping forms of Naruto, Fuu, and Sakura.

Kakashi responds with an eye-smile while saying, "No, no. Your life's only just begun. You're still quite young."

That gets Chiyo to laugh loudly, waking the sleeping shinobi, before she replies, "That's true, there may still be something I can do.", that thought cementing into her head.

With the sun having fully risen, the extraction of Shukaku from Gaara is complete, his lifeless body falling to the ground with a thud and the Gedo's nine eyes gaining a third pupil as Pain says, "The sealing of the One Tails is complete."

Outside the sealed cave, Team Guy arrived first, having Neji scope out the inside of the cave with his Byakugan, before finding that it's sealed shut with a barrier by Guy punching it. Guy is a tall and well-muscled man with fair skin, a strong jawline, a somewhat large nose, and black shiny bowl-style hair and thick eyebrows. He wears a green jumpsuit, orange striped leg warmers, and the standard Konoha flack jacket, which he leaves unzipped. His red forehead protector is worn around his waist like a belt.

On his team is Lee, he has round eyes with prominent lower eyelashes, the same shiny bowl-style black hair and very thick eyebrows as Guy, even his outfit is the same, with the exception of bandages around his forearms up to his finger, covering a set of stitches on his hands that were cause by his rigorous training, all in all, he's like a miniature Guy.

The aforementioned Neji, is fair skinned, has long brown hair framing his face, Byakugan eyes, and is wearing a white kimono-shirt with long, losse sleeves, matching pants, a navy-grey apron tied around his waist, and black shinobi sandals and forehead protector.

The last member of their team is Tenten, a kunoichi with brown eyes, brown hair in two Chinese-style buns on her head with short fringe-bangs framing her face, and is wearing a long-sleeved, high collared white blouse with maroon edges, black fingerless gloves, low-heeled sandals and a black forehead protector. She also wears maroon, puffy hakama-styled pants with the exposed parts covered in bandages, the shuriken holster removed, and a large scroll behind her back.

When Team Kakashi arrives shortly after, they learn from Naruto that the barrier is the same one the Akatsuki used before. Telling them what to do, which finding the four other seal tags took only a few seconds with Neji's Byakugan. Team Guy left to remove them, prepared to deal with the copies that'll spring up with special sealing tags Naruto made to counter them.

Having been so annoyed by them when he dealt with them, he spent apart of his last five months of training to develop a way to get ride of them. Once they removed their respective seal tags, Kakashi removed the last one with Sakura punching the boulder into pieces. Kakashi then signaled them in, Sakura and Chiyo taking the right, and Kakashi and Naruto taking the left. Seeing two Akatsuki members with a larger than man-sized clay bird on their left, and the blond one sitting on Gaara's unmoving body, Kakashi knew they were too late.

Deidara, the one sitting on Gaara, has slanted blue eyes and long golden blond hair which is drawn into a half ponytail with the rest hanging down freely, the bang hanging over his left eye is concealing his eye scope. He has a mouth on both his palms, though his left arm has been crushed by Gaara's sand, and one on the left side of his chest is stitched-up. He's wearing the Akatsuki cloak, navy blue pants with matching shinobi sandals, a teal Akatsuki ring on his right index finger, black fingernail polish, a utility belt with two bags on either side, which carries his clay, and the Iwa forehead protector with a slash through the symbol.

Sasori is short and wide thin back hair striped along his head and up in five pointed spikes, wearing the Akatsuki cloak and a tattered face mask covering the lower portion of his face. But that's just his puppet Hiruko, that he's hidden inside of. His real appearance is greyish brown eyes, short mousy red hair, and a hazy, dreamy look on his face, wearing the Akatsuki cloak with a purple Akatsuki ring on his left thumb. Underneath the cloak is his puppet converted body consisting of a pair of spinning claws attached to his lower back, a holder for four scrolls on his back, a stinger in the empty and open stomach cavity, a compartment in his right chest, and a 'core of living flesh' in the left which has the kanji for "scorpion" painted on it.

Deidara speaks up, "Now, let's see, which one is the jinchuuriki host? Hmmm?"

Getting pissed off with Deidara shitting on Gaara, Naruto yells out, "Hey! Blond ponytailed bastard! You're fucking dead meat!"

Deidara calmly replies, "That would be him, then. Looks like it. Is he really the one who beat Hidan?"

Naruto proceeds to yell out in fury, "Gaara! Why are you just lying there?! GET UP! HEY, GAARA! WHAT ARE YOU, DEAF?!"

While Sakura, Fuu, and Chiyo gain saddened, knowing looks, Kakashi says solemnly, "Naruto, stop. You know full well."

Deidara chimes in, "Indeed. I should think you'd know that he's already dead. Hmmm?"

Naruto grits his teeth as an anguished expression appears on his face, tears welling up at the sides of his eyes. Kakashi takes silent notice of how none of the usual fox like features, that tend to show themselves when Naruto is enraged, aren't appearing on his face. Come to think about it, not even his eyes have turned red, not once since he came back from training with Jiraiya. Did the Fourth Hokage strengthen his seal that much? Did Naruto or Jiraiya do something to his seal? He'll have to ask Naruto about it later.

Naruto quietly says, "Give him back.", before roaring out while charging, "GIVE ME GAARA! YOU BASTARDS!"

Kakashi barely stops Naruto and says in a deadly serious tone, "Cool it. Charge in without thinking, and you'll get us all killed.", causing Naruto to grit his teeth and calm down.

Sasori tells Deidara, "I'll hold on to the body since it appears that the Nine Tails jinchuuriki host is burning for it."

Deidara counters, "Sasori my man, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I'll handle the Nine Tails jinchuuriki. Hmmm?"

Sasori replies irritably, "Listen, our quota is on apiece. If I were you, Deidara, I wouldn't push my luck."

Deidara responds, "An artist must always seek ever-greater stimulation, lest his senses turn dull. This jinchuuriki host was strong enough to best the immortal Hidan, he is fairly strong. Hmmm?"

Sasori retorts, "What? Those pyrotechnics or yours, ART? Art is a work of beauty, captured and left for posterity, it is the beauty of all eternity."

Deidara returns, "Quite so, Sasori my man. As a fellow artist, I can certainly respect your perspective, but, in my opinion, art is transient beauty that fades after just a moment. Hmm."

Naruto's anger returns as they continue their pointless argument and Sakura asks, "What's with them?"

Naruto snaps, saying, "Enough of this!", where he proceeds to unseal his kubikiribocho and coats it in highly condensed wind chakra, holding it at his side horizontally, taking a step forward passed Kakashi and unleashing a horizontal Wind Slash at Deidara and Sasori, avoiding Gaara.

Seeing the threat of the wind slash attack, Deidara and Sasori jump out of the way, avoiding getting sliced in half, but Deidara's clay bird wasn't as lucky, getting sliced in two from head to tail horizontally, the wind slash continuing on, slicing through the rock behind them and out into the forest, leveling several trees. Instantly resealing his blade, Naruto rushes full speed at Garra while ordering Fuu with their link to fly away as fast as she can. Blurring in front of Gaara, Naruto grabs him just as Sasori's tail come spearing at him, missing as Naruto Hirashins to Fuu, who is already out of the cave, flying full speed away from them.

Sasori says. "This all your fault Deidara! If you hadn't been so greedy, than the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki wouldn't have gotten away with the Kazekage's body!"

Deidara merely creates another clay bird like the last one, using up nearly the last of his detonating clay, and fallows after Naruto, while replying, "Yeah right Sasori my man! You should have just agreed and keep the others busy! Bye. I'll retrieve him with my art, an explosion! Hmmm!"

Kakashi rushes after Deidara, thinking about how Naruto just can't help himself, then says, "I'll go help Naruto and Fuu outside. Sakura and Granny Chiyo, you deal with this creep. Just don't do any thing rash. Wait until Team Guy returns."

Sakura replies, "Understood!"

While running after Deidara, Kakashi uses his wireless communicator to contact Guy, "Guy, come in, what is your E.T.A.?"

Guy responds, "About five minutes out. Those suppression seals Naruto gave us did the trick and took care of our doubles."

Kakashi replies, "Good! I'm going after Naruto and his pursuer Deidara. I want you to split up, sending Lee and Tenten my way, and you and Neji to aide Sakura and Granny Chiyo with Sasori."

Guy says, "Alright! On our way!"

In the five minutes it took for Guy and Neji to arrive and aide Sakura and Chiyo, they had destroyed Sasori's shell puppet and just finished his off his favorite puppet, the Third Kazekage!

That's when Sakura had learned that Sasori once worked with Orochimaru and had to use up the second of the three doses of antidote. Sakura just finished healing Chiyo and herself as Sasori revealed his puppet body, when Guy and Neji come bursting in, landing by Sakura and Chiyo's sides.

Guy says, "Sorry to keep you ladies waiting", holding his thumb up while his teeth sparkled.

An exhausted Sakura replies in relief, " That's fine Guy-sensei. I'm just glad for the help, but you need to be careful. His weapons are coated in a very dangerous poison that'll immobilize you if you get so much as a scratch."

Guy confidently replies, "Thanks for heads up, but you don't need to worry about me and Neji! With my speed and experience, and Neji's Byakugan, we'll be hard pressed to be injured anytime soon! Neji!"

Neji responds by activating his Byakugan to access Sasori's strange puppet body while saying, "Yes, Guy-sensei!"

Guy asks, "What do make of him Neji?"

Neji answers, "His entire body is hallow with chakra flowing throughout it, centering from that piece of flesh on his left chest! If we want any chance at beating him, then we'll need to destroy that spot!", honestly surprised that anyone could live with so little flesh.

Sasori grunts, "Heh, I've forgotten how annoying Byakugan users are.", while releasing streams of fire from the valves in his palms, causing his enemies to scatter out of the way, finding any cover they can.

Three minutes go by until the fire stops and one of the scrolls on Sasori's back disappears, allowing Guy to quickly cover the distance between them and land a powerful straight right in Sasori's face, cracking it as it flies off his body. Not being taken in, Guy quickly hops to his left as Sasori's headless body attacks him by firing his stinger from his stomach. Sasori's head reattaches to his body as Granny Chiyo reattaches her puppet arm and pulls out a scroll from her weapons pouch.

Chiyo says, "I forbade even myself the use of this jutsu because of you, Sasori. I never thought I would ever use it again, but against you, I must! Lets end this here and now.", as she makes a hand-sign and opens up the scroll, releasing ten puppets.

Sasori responds, "Outstanding, granny. A puppet master's skill is measured by the number of puppet they can use."

Sakura comments, "So, So many."

Guy laughs out, "Your fires of youth still burn Lady Chiyo."

Sasori continues, "Granny Chiyo's secret Yubi No Kazu! Multiple Digits! I've heard of it, you once destroyed an entire fortress with it. Secret White Move! Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets! The first puppet master, Monzaemon's ten masterpieces.", stopping to remove the second scroll on his back, opening it up and unlatching the compartment on his right chest.

Neji see's the massive increase in chakra pouring out of Sasori's chest piece, as numerous chakra strings move to connect with the hundred puppets he released from the scroll. Surprising everyone there and somewhat impressing Chiyo and making Guy cross his arms in front of his face in preparation for opening the inner gates.

Sasori says while that happens, "Your collection is quite impressive, but, I destroyed an entire country with these. I can't believe I'm having to resort to my best puppets, Secret Red Technique! Performance of a Hundred Puppets! It's show time."

Guy releases the sixth inner gate Keimon, jumping forward as Sasori's hundred Puppet charge them, letting loose his Asakujaku! His fists start punching so fast that the friction causes the air around his fists to catch fire and travel along the path of his punches, sending a large number of fire enhanced punches smashing into Sasori's puppets. By the end of the assault, around half of Sasori's puppets are destroyed, unfortunately, that leaves about fifty left and Guy is now exhausted, having opened the Keimon gate twice in as many days. Fortunately for Guy, Granny Chiyo is already launching her puppets to intercept Sasori's remaining puppets, allowing Sakura to grab him and perform some basic medical aide to help lower his fatigue. Sasori on the other hand is pissed and shocked to see his best jutsu cut in half with nothing more than pure physical ability.

As Chiyo is having her puppets tear through Sasori's puppet army, she praises, "Well now, Guy was it, that was an amazing taijutsu! I didn't even think a person could have such physical prowess, but thanks to that, our task is now twice as feasible."

All said while some of her puppets are turning into a duo shuriken buzzsaw cutting through them, one using duel kenjutsu to slice through them, another having long pointed metal stingers coming out of it's head piercing them, and three forming together to make, "Three Treasures Vacuum!", sucking them in and crushing them. Neji is shifting between using his rotation to repel them, one hundred and twenty eight palms to destroy them, and air palms to keep them off the others.

Sasori's puppet numbers still seem to be too much, catching Chiyo off guard as one of Sasori's puppets sneaks up behind her, not having enough time to react, it looks like she's about to be cut, "Dynamic Entry!", Guy kicks the puppet into pieces, saving Granny Chiyo. Sakura had got Guy up and moving again and she is now smashing into Sasori's forces along side Neji.

Seeing Sakura moving again, Chiyo says, "Sakura aim for Sasori, we'll take care of the other puppets."

Sakura replies, "Okay!"

Granny Chiyo has one of her puppets pop out a ball form it's mouth, giving it to Sakura as Chiyo orders, "Use this!"

Neji and Guy clear a path through Sasori's puppets as Sakura runs towards Sasori, finding an opening, she launches a full force throw, sending the ball at Sasori. Said ball turns into a tiger puppet head with rows of razor sharp teeth, smashing into the unsuspecting Sasori, pinning him to the wall with a sealing formula. That causes all of his puppet to cease function, bringing a sigh of relief from Sakura as she nearly doubles over in exhaustion.

Chiyo explains, "He can't move, it's over, Sasori. That sealing array completely traps chakra, you can't use your chakra strings anymore.", she falls to one knee in exhaustion.

Sakura tries to run to her while calling out her name, only to shocked by one of the downed puppets standing, with several blades sticking out of it, a tattered hooded cloak on, Sasori's face on it and his flesh core embedded in it's chest. The flesh piece is missing from his original puppet body and it's eyes are empty. With a sword in hand, Sasori moves to cut down the weakened Granny Chiyo, only to be stopped by Neji appearing in front of him and striking his core with his gentle-fist, stopping his flow of chakra and his puppet body's movements. In that fallowing instant, Sasori's core is pierced by two blades, wielded by his Father and Mother human puppets controlled by Chiyo.

Chiyo says, "You lowered your guard at the last moment, Sasori. You can't move, huf, huf, anymore, can you?"

Neji speaks up, "I never once lost sight of that chakra producing part in your chest, so I knew exactly what you were up to and with my gentle-fist's attack on it, you no longer have access to your chakra. That body of yours it just a puppet, and a puppet can't move with out chakra flowing through it."

Sasori laughs before saying, "Damn, I was at least hoping to take my senile Granny with me. It's a shame I don't get to see you die fir-", Sasori is interrupted by Sakura punching him in the face.

As Sakura catches her breath, Sasori states, "You're waisting your time, this body doesn't feel pain. You'll only hurt your fist. Women, they just love to do completely pointless things. Heh heh. Even if my grandmother dies, I won't feel a thing. My heart is just like this body. She'd just be one more among the thousands I've killed. Things are simpler than you think."

Sakura grips her fist in anger before yelling, "What do you think human life is?! What's family to you?!"

Sasori replies, "Hey, does that sound like something a shinobi should say?"

Sakura asks, "Why? Why can you only think of things that way?!"

Chiyo interrupts, "That's enough, Sakura. What made him like this was our Sunagakure customs and teachings."

Sasori then asks, "Do you want to try this body? If you do you'll understand a little of what it's like. This body never decays, puppets can be produced and reproduced, and they're free from a mortal lifespan. Countless people can be created with puppets, but only if you want to, but it's not about quantity. A collection is all about quality."

Sakura's eyes harden as replies, "What on earth are you?!"

Sasori answers, "Suffice to say, I'm a human being who couldn't become a complete puppet. I'm a puppet, but with a human heart. I'm neither human nor puppet. My end is near, but first, I'll do something pointless too, a reward for defeating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, didn't you? Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Hidden Grass village ten days from now at noon,"

Sakura asks in confusion, "What do you mean?! What's going to be there?"

Sasori answers, "One of Orochimaru's henchmen is a spy of mine, I'm supposed to meet him there.", with that he passes from this world, falling to ground surround by his dead parent's puppet bodies. Granny Chiyo can't help but remember Sasori as child, hopelessly trying to bring his family back by turning his parents into puppets, so that he could make them hold him again.

Sakura snaps Chiyo out of her thoughts by saying, "You did it, Granny Chiyo. I knew you could,"

A sad look comes across Chiyo's face as she looks down a her dead family before she replies, "No, by all rights, it was I that should have been defeated. Sasori anticipated our final attack, but for some reason he couldn't dodge it. He was off guard for a moment."

Neji chimes in, "I thought something felt off when I landed my blow and you pierced his core. I wonder what that was?"

Guy answers, "Because no matter how far lost he was, he hesitated when faced with killing his grandmother. Even the most cold hearted shinobi has someone that they just can't kill."

Sakura adds, "Then that's what he meant when he said he was puppet with a human heart."

Granny Chiyo smiled sadly as she was hoping that means that her grandson wasn't completely lost. That, even if he only minutely still had love in his heart for her, than he was still able to die as human.

While the battle with Sasori was still going on, Naruto had handed Gaara off to Fuu, so she could hide his body while Naruto set up his trap for Deidara. He had realized that Gaara was dead when he first saw him, but it wasn't until he held his dead friends body that it finally sunk in. With Fuu out of the way with Gaara's body, he was now prepared to go all out to kill Deidara.

Naruto can't help but wonder if this burning rage roaring inside of him is similar to what Sasuke felt when Itachi murdered his whole family. It was probably worse for Sasuke, so Naruto can somewhat understand Sasuke's motivations in seeking power for his revenge, after all it's only been a few minutes since Gaara was killed, but he can't bare the fact that his murderer was still breathing! Naruto's preparations are finished just as Diedara catches up to him, a smug smirk on his face, as if he has already won.

Deidara cockily mocks, "You got a dead-man to safety while leaving yourself, my main target, in harms way? Are you that foolish? Hmmm?"

Naruto returns his smirk while blurring through hand-signs, slamming his right hand on the ground, leaving a kanji mark for seal on the ground. The ground beneath him lights up, sending lines of chakra in four directions, connecting to four seal marks, erecting a tall rectangular barrier around them, trapping them inside.

Looking around to find himself trapped inside Naruto's barrier, Deidara asks, "What exactly do you hope to accomplish by trapping yourself inside a barrier with me? You're cutting off your own escape roots! Hmm! "

Naruto explains, "I have no intention of fleeing! My Five Point Seal is to keep you from running away from me, and so that no one can interfere with our fight. The only way to break it is to either have me release it, or you could always wait the two years it'll take for it to naturally dissolve. I'm going to kill you with my own two hands no matter what it takes!", what Naruto failed to notice was that Kakashi had made it inside of his barrier, only stopping Lee and Tenten from aiding him.

Deidara points out, "Well, you succeeded in that, but it seems that this barrier of yours took up at least more than half of your chakra reserves and after I beat you, I can persuade you to unleash the barrier. If that doesn't work, I can always speed up the barriers decay by blasting it with my art! Because no matter how powerful a barrier you make, if it doesn't have a constant supply of chakra it will decay faster as more chakra is required to hold it's prey. All you've done is assure your own demise! Hmmm!"

Naruto replies, "Sorry, but I already thought of that! This barrier was labor intensive because I had to add a formula that allows it to absorb chakra, so any attempt to escape with force will only strengthen it!"

An enraged Deidara yells out, "You little shit! That'll just motivate me to torture you all the harder!", while charging Naruto head on with small explosive birds flanking him on both sides.

Naruto responds by using his Gale Wolf jutsu to create a pack of six wolfs to intercept Deidara's flanking maneuver, causing them to explode before reaching him and obscuring Deidara view. Deidara pulls back, not falling for an obvious trap, only to be surprised by Naruto's Kubikiribocho flying right at him! Nearly avoiding it and expecting Naruto to come up from his blind spot, Deidara lets loose a several explosive birds at his rear, hitting Naruto head on, consuming him in fire.

Before Deidara can rejoice in his easy victory, he is suddenly hit by a massive fireball jutsu! While Deidara was covering his blind spot and hitting Naruto's shadow clone, the real Naruto Hirashin'd behind him, where his blade was ignored after being dodged, unsealing Itachi's Fireball jutsu he captured earlier and mixing it with his own "Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet" to exponentially increase it's power.

Now it was Deidara that was consumed in an explosion of fire that ended up burning out the entire forested area of the barrier, only leaving the sky untouched. As Naruto was falling down towards the sea of fire he made, he quickly pulled another scroll holding a jutsu, and released a "Liquid Bullet" he had the chief toad supply him, putting out enough of the fire to land safely. Hearing the ground beneath him shift and give way, Naruto jumped back prepared to fight, only to find Kakashi popping out slightly singed.

Kakashi says with a sigh, "Naruto, you need to make sure non of your comrades are nearby when use a jutsu combination that powerful. If I hadn't seen it coming with my sharingan, I wouldn't have been able to avoid it in time."

Naruto replies, "Hey! It's not my fault! No one but me and that Akatsuki bastard was suppose to be in here! I even went out of my way to make this barrier so no one else would get caught up our fight!"

Before Kakashi can reply, Deidara appears out of the sea of flames, his clothes all gone along with his hair and most of his skin, in his charred right hand is a clump of clay he was able to take from his large bird. There was a large open mouth on his chest that he was starting to feed the clay, he was so low on chakra that he wasn't able escape the attack and was left with no other option but to use his ultimate art.

Deidara coughed out in pain, "I won't die laying down like a helpless child! I might have underestimated you and was still to weakened from my fight with the One Tails and it's sealing, but I still refuse to loose! To hell with the Akatsuki! I'm going to detonate myself! Never before has an explosion like this been seen! One that shall scar the very earth itself, blowing away your pitiful barrier, and receiving rave reviews from all my critics! For with my death- I SHALL BECOME ART! AND WHEN I DO, UZUMAKI NARUTO, HATAKE KAKASHI, YOU WILL DIE! The blast will cover a ten-kilometer radius! Not even the Hirashin will save you! Hmm?! Now are you afraid? Cower in awe! Recoil in despair! Cry your heart out! BECAUSE MY ART IS AN EXPLOSION!"

As Deidara was ranting Naruto and Kakashi were thinking about what to do, Kakashi's sharingan could see the massive amounts of chakra forming inside of Deidara, confirming his rant and that it was too late to stop it! With the blast that powerful, Naruto's barrier wouldn't be able to hold it for more than a second and with all his friends waiting outside the barrier to help, apparently having beaten Sasori, Naruto wouldn't be able to get them all out in time, and seeing that Fuu's not more than ten-kilometers away, he wouldn't be able to escape either!

Deidara's body was having black lines converging at the center of his chest, forming what looked like a black ball with white eyes and sharp teeth and just as it exploded in light, it looked like Naruto and Kakashi were consumed by it. Naruto's barrier blasts apart from the shockwave of the explosion consuming everyone in a dust cloud just as Neji was yelling at everyone to run away, having seen the massive build up of chakra coming from inside the barrier.

Everything is dead quiet as the dust dissipates, revealing a creator where Deidara was with what looked like a vortex sucking in light and dust, closing shut with the sound of all the air being remove from around them. Standing right in front of the creator is Kakashi, his sharingan changed into a strange swirl like pattern, breathing heavily as blood poured out of his left eye and ear. Collapsing back words, Kakashi is caught by Naruto as everyone comes converging in on their position.

Naruto yells out in worry, "Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura asks in a confused tone, "What on earth did you do? What happened here?"

Naruto answers, "I beat that one armed Akatsuki guy that beat Gaara, but he then self detonated, planning on taking all of us with him, but Kakashi did something to stop it."

Kakashi explains while breathing hard, barely able to stay conscious, "I teleported him, and the explosion to another space. Huh, huh, huh. Never mind that, is everyone okay?"

Fuu arrives with Gaara as soon as Kakashi finished asking his question, having rushed back after seeing Naruto's barrier explode, worried for his safety. Then after moving to an open grassy plan, Sakura examines Gaara, confirming Naruto's fears, he's dead.

Unimaginable pain and sorrow fill Naruto's being as tears pour from his eye's and his body trembles as he speaks, the pain clearly heard in his voice, "Why, Gaara? Why always Gaara? If he dies like this! He's Kazekage. He's just become Kazekage."

Chiyo interrupts Naruto, "Calm down Uzumaki Naruto-"

Naruto turns around quickly, tears of pain and rage pouring down his, yelling out, "SHUT UP! If you Suna-nin hadn't put that monster in Gaara, none of this would have happened! Did you even consider what Gaara thought?! Did you ever even ask?! You call him a jinchuuriki?! Who are you to decide that fate for someone else?!"

Naruto stops to sob and sniffle as he tries rubbing the tears out of his eyes while Sakura sadly whispers his name and Fuu puts a comforting hand on his right shoulder, understanding how he feels, being a jinchuuriki herself.

Naruto continues, "I couldn't save Sasuke. I can't save Gaara. For nearly three years I trained like crazy, but nothing has changed."

As Naruto wipes the rest of his tears away and lets Fuu hug him, rubbing his back comfortingly, Granny Chiyo walks over to Gaara and places her hand on his stomach, pouring what looks like a heavy chakra in Gaara.

Being familiar with medical jutsu, Sakura can tell that's not what Chiyo is using and voices her concerns, "Granny Chiyo! That jutsu! Is it what I think it is?!"

Neji can see with his Byakugan that Chiyo's life force is leaving her body and filling Gaara's body as Naruto asks, "What are you doing?"

Chiyo explains, "I'm imparting raw life energy into Gaara. This is a transference technique I spent years creating for Sasori, so I could bring back his parents and I'm the only one who can use it. With this jutsu the user can breathe life into even a puppet, in exchange for the life of the user. That dream is an impossibility now, but it can be used it to bring Gaara back to life."

Everyone but Kakashi and Guy are surprised by that revelation, causing Naruto to skeptically ask, "Bring back, to life?! Can she, really do that?"

Sakura answers, "Yes, but only Granny Chiyo can perform this jutsu and like she said, it'll cost her, her life."

Chiyo grunts in pain as the chakra in her hands shrinks, causing her to say, "No! Not enough chakra."

On the verge of giving up, Naruto says to her surprise, "Please, use my chakra! Is that possible! Granny."

Looking at Naruto then Gaara, Chiyo remembers what Kakashi told her about Naruto, getting her to reply, "Place your hands on mine", Naruto does just that without hesitation, allowing Chiyo to continue her transference jutsu.

Continuing to think about what Kakashi told her, specifically about his special power to befriend others, Granny Chiyo says, "In this shinobi world created by frivolous old people, I'm glad new souls like you have come along. Up until now, everything I've done has been wrong, but, at the very end, I think I might finally be able to do something right. Suna and Konoha, may their future be something different from our time. This special power of yours, Kakashi spoke of it, that power will change the future dramatically. Become a Hokage the like of which has never been seen! And Sakura, in the future, don't save a dying granny like me, help those you truly care about. You're a lot like me, so few women possess such a strong spirit. You'll likely surpass your teacher. Naruto, I have a favor to ask. You're the only person who knows Gaara's pain, Gaara also knows your pain. Please look after Gaara."

With that, Granny Chiyo passes from this world, pulling Gaara back from the other side with Naruto's help. Sakura in tears as she holds her dead body as Naruto holds up Gaara newly conscious form and dozens Suna shinobi arrive around them.

A confused Gaara asks, "What's this?"

Naruto happily answers, "We all came running to your rescue. You had us worried!"

Kankuro interrupts, "Hmph! You sure did. You caused us a lot of grief, little brother."

Temari replies in a scolding tone, "Don't act so superior! Gaara is Kazekage. Shut ALL your mouths! You Brats!", then shifting to a concerned tone and pushing Naruto aside, "Gaara, how are you feeling? You shouldn't move too suddenly. Your body hasn't completely recovered from the rigor mortis yet.", worried as Gaara grunts in pain from trying to move.

Then several of the Suna shinobi start talking about how relieved they are that Gaara is ok, and a few of the young kunoichi start talking about how he's cool and cute. Then said kunoichi rush Gaara, pushing Naruto to the ground, arguing about which one will protect their Kazekage. Getting Naruto to mutter about how he's still just a genin, but he gets snapped out of that thought by Fuu tackling him into the ground as he tries to get up.

As she sits on his lap, kissing him passionately, only stopping to yell out, "Yay! Our first team mission is a success! We're going to have lots celebration sex later! That's totally worth not being able to have sex with you while on a mission!"

That gets everyone's attention, making Naruto groan out, "Fuu-chan, please try to remember what Sakura said about proper social conversation. Keep the sex stuff to yourself until we're alone. Okay?"

Fuu bashfully scratches the back of her head while apologizing, "Sorry. I just got so excited with our mission's success and we have had any se- I mean time together for almost a week. I'll do better next time, I promise!"

Most everyone goes back to paying attention to Gaara while a few other are silently chastising the both of them for being so disrespectful.

Getting back on point, Kankuro is thinking about how Naruto changed Gaara in ways no one else could, then says, "Thanks, Naruto."

Naruto's expression becomes solemn along with Fuu, who gets off Naruto and helps him up, as he replies, "No, don't thank me. Thank Granny Chiyo who gave her life to bring Gaara back."

In response to Naruto, everyone stops their commotion and sadly looks at the still form of Chiyo, he brother saying, "She looks like she'll just laugh and say, "I was just playing possum", hmm, she looks so peaceful."

Tears start falling down Sakura's face again as she tightens her grip on Chiyo and says, "Yes. She does."

Temari decides to speak up, having moved to Naruto's side, "Naruto, like I thought, you're definitely different. You have the power to change people. Granny Chiyo used to say that she didn't care about the village's future anymore. She wasn't the kind of person who would do something like this for Gaara."

Kakashi adds, "Granny Chiyo entrusted the future to you and Gaara, it was a death befitting a shinobi."

Naruto replies, "Yeah, same as Old Man, Third Hokage."

Kakashi responds, "That's true."

Naruto continues, "Yeah, now I get what Granny Chiyo wished for!"

Struggling to stand up at the protest of a kunoichi, Gaara is helped up by Naruto, having them both stand in front of Granny Chiyo as Gaara orders, "Everyone. Pray for Granny Chiyo.", Where they all lower their heads in silent prayer.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDispair

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/11/19**

Chapter: 6

Teams Kakashi and Guy stayed in Suna for one day to pay their respects at Granny Chiyo's funeral and for Kakashi to regain consciousness, he passed out on their way back to Suna. The strain of using his Mangekyo sharingan to move an explosion that powerful, completely drained his chakra. He was so weak that Guy ended up giving him a piggyback, against his will, and ran all the way back to Konoha for three days non-stop!

On a side note, Fuu jumped Naruto as soon as they got to the room that they were given at a local Suna hotel. There were a large number of noise complaints from the neighboring occupants of the hotel, one of which was from Tenten. Tenten was later told by Sakura about Naruto's little harem and his use of the C.R.A to restore his clan. Tenten was put back by that fact, she had thought Naruto was hot when she first saw him again, but she's interested Neji, so just drops her issue with Naruto and hopes Neji never has to do the whole restoring his clan thing, she doesn't want to share him.

Sakura and Tenten actually got talking about how she can try getting Neji's attention, but Tenten knows that he doesn't want to have children that'd be caged like him, so will most likely keep her at a distance. Which she can totally understand, who would want to have kids that you would know for a fact, will be put into what is basically slavery. It's a messed up system that is outdated and needs to be removed, but with the power and influence of the Hyuga clan, that will most likely never happen.

It's been four days since the rescue of Gaara, Teams Kakashi and Guy are back in Konoha and Kakashi has been hospitalized with chakra exhaustion. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura are discussing what they are going to do with Sasori's tip on Orochimaru, while on the walkway outside of the Hokage Mansion.

Tsunade is leaning against the railing as she asks Sakura, "Can you trust the information? What if it's a trap? Maybe the Akatsuki is using Orochimaru's name as bait to lure us to Tenchi Bridge, where they'll ambush us?"

Sakura answer with strength, "If it is a trap, then we fight!"

Tsunade counters, "Yes, but Kakashi will be out of commission for over a week, and there are only six days left until the rendezvous, so the only solution is to assemble a new team."

Shizune cuts in, "Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade asks, "What is it Shizune?"

Shizune suggests, "In that case, why not deploy a different team? Even if you decide to send Sakura along with them, I believe Naruto and Fuu should be removed from this mission!"

Tsunade replies after a moments pause, "Like you, Shizune, Sakura is among the very few shinobi that I trust implicitly. This mission must involve the remaining members of Team Kakashi."

Shizune asks somewhat insulted, "You don't think my team can handle it?"

Tsunade answers, "Frankly? No. This more than just a mission to Team Kakashi, it's personal. Sasuke is not merely their former teammate, he's their friend. They've pledged their lives to rescuing him and that is why they will succeed. That's also why your team might fail."

Shizune replies, "I understand, but that doesn't explain away why we shouldn't at least keep Fuu off this mission. We can temporarily replace her for this mission, just incase the worst does happen, the village will still have one jinchuuriki to maintain the power balance."

Tsunade sighs out, "We can't do that. Fuu made it perfectly clear that she only wants to be on Naruto's team and it's apart of the deal we made with her. If we start going back on deals we make with shinobi we poach from other villages, which tends to bring along classified information and secret jutsu, will no longer trust us enough to trade sides. Then it won't be long before clans start doing the same and that could irreparably damage Konoha."

Shizune says, "Understood Milady, but I still think Naruto-"

Tsunade interrupts, "What do you think NARUTO would say about that?"

Naruto answers from above them, "I would say that we need a new teammate to replace Kakashi-sensei!", surprising Sakura and Shizune before he jumps down in front of Shizune, asking her, "Do you really have so little faith in me Shizune-nee-chan?"

A flustered Shizune answers, "No! It's just I don't won't you to be killed by the Akatsuki! They were able to infiltrate Suna, that was on high alert, to defeat and capture their Kazekage! Sending you into a possible Akatsuki trap is too dangerous!"

Naruto calmly responds, "I'm touched that you're worried about me, but I'm always going to be their target, unless we destroy them, or they finally capture me and extract the Nine Tailed Fox. And I'm not just going to sit around here for one of those eventualities to happen. I've trained for two and half years, not just to save Sasuke, but to also defeat the Akatsuki. I'm a lot stronger than I use to be and I don't like how you are treating me and Fuu as weapons instead of shinobi of Konoha."

Shizune becomes disgusted with herself, but still tries to argue, "I don't, I mean, I didn't mean to. It's just that's how the world sees the both of you and if we forget that then our enemies will remind use through force."

Tsunade decides to chime in on their discussion, "True. Konoha's enemies will see it as weakness on our part, but you have to remember that it's not just Naruto that's being targeted. At least one other jinchuuriki has been taken out by the Akatsuki, so the other villages will be heavily focused on hiding their own weakness to notice any of ours."

Shizune starts thinking about how Naruto has a mysterious power to make everyone want to bet on him. Even getting Lady Tsunade to change when she was so lost in booze and gambling, that at times it seemed like she didn't care that she was still alive. She even bestowed the First Hokage's necklace to him, Naruto is a special child, especially with how often her soon to be husband, Iruka, tends to praise him.

Speaking up, Shizune says, "Alright. I yield to your arguments, but even you've said, Naruto, that Team Kakashi still needs a replacement for Kakashi."

Tsunade replies, "I'll have to look through the available shinobi and chose the one that is most qualified to replace Kakashi. I'll fill you all in when I make my decision."

Naruto says in response, "Sure that sounds good to me! Now I've got to go and meet up with Hinata-chan to fill her in on what's been happening. I promised her I would as soon as I could. Bye", leaping away and running along the roof tops.

Sakura replies, "Yes, Milady.", and proceeds to leave.

Just as Tsunade gets off the rail to head for her office, Elder Utatane Koharu says in a commanding tone, "Tsunade, we need to talk. Come with me, please."

Tsunade and Shizune fallow Koharu to a room inside the Hokage Mansion with two couches facing each other and one open window. Tsunade is sitting on the couch closest to the door with Shizune standing behind it on her left side. Koharu and the village's other elder, Mitokado Homura, are sitting on the one across from Tsunade, facing the door.

Tsunade asks, "So are you here to complain about me not keeping you in the loop with the current happenings lately and having to find out through Danzo?"

Koharu answers, "Actually, we a have been receiving periodic reports from Shizune.", causing Tsunade to give Shizune a perturbed look through the corner of her eye as Shizune looks away with an embarrassed blush on her face.

Homura then states, as if it's already been decided, "Henceforth, Uzumaki Naruto and Fuu must not be dispatched on missions that might bring them into contact with the Akatsuki. In addition, assign two accomplished shinobi to remain at their sides at all times. Not only will it serve to better protect them, but it will restore Team Kakashi to the requisite four-man cell with an extra member for Fuu's protection as well."

Koharu continues, "And do try to cut back as much as possible on their overall number of missions. The more limited the scope of their activities, the better."

Tsunade replies in a strong and firm tone, "Absolutely not!"

Koharu starts, "Tsunade, Naruto and Fuu are not ordinary children."

Homura continues, "They are jinchuuriki. Normally, we would never send them outside the village and keep them under surveillance at all times. So we're already offering you a compromise."

Tsunade responds, "I'm in favor of adding an extra shinobi to the usual four-man team, seeing as there are two jinchuuriki on Team Kakashi, but you can't impose anymore restrictions on them! Fuu's freedom was guaranteed with the deal that we all agreed to, both of you included, when we excepted her into Konoha. Going back on that now will prevent others from ever doing the same, and I don't have to remind you that was how our village acquired some of our most powerful clans. If Konoha's word holds no value than we'll never be trusted again, possibly losing military strength and clients. Besides, I already compromised by having Fuu followed by some of my personal Ambu, and all they have been able to report about her is that she has excessive amounts of sex with Naruto. Nothing too surprising from teenage shinobi. Plus, the Akatsuki already got what they needed from her, so she's only a low priority for them. At most they'll try to kill her when given the chance, but that's true with any shinobi."

Koharu yields, "Fine, Fuu is outside our control, at least without having long term adverse effects on our village, but Naruto is a different matter entirely."

Tsunade replies, "So long as Naruto remains in one place, all of Konoha is in danger. Sooner or later, the Akatsuki WILL come for him, and it'll be Sunagakure all over again. However, a moving target is hardest to hit, which is why we must keep Naruto in the field as long and as often as possible. Naruto DOES have talent. He's already becoming a great asset to Konoha with his unparalleled use of the Hirashin, only being surpassed by the Fourth Hokage! No one else in all the world is capable of using it! He's mastered a large number of jutsu for his age and is the first real sealing jutsu expert our village has, outside of Jiraiya, but even he admits that Naruto's obvious natural talent for it surpasses his own. Naruto has even begun the process of reviving the Uzumaki clan here in our village, do you realize the importance of that?!"

Homura answers, "Yes, we are aware of young Naruto's plans, but that will take time and if he dies facing the Akatsuki before than, with no heirs, it's a pointless endeavor. And yes, his usage of the Hirashin is a plus for our village, but rumor is that he's still not fully capable of using it in combat. As impressive as Naruto's abilities are for his age, he's a ways off from being a larger military asset then the Nine Tailed Fox."

Tsunade counters, "Yes, but someday he will be!"

Homura asks incredulously, "Someday, that is your argument, Tsunade? And you have the nerve to call yourself Hokage?"

That causes Tsunade stomp the ground in anger, while leaning forward on her knee and yelling out, "LOOK! I'M TRYING TO COMPROMISE HERE, TOO!"

Homura calmly fires back, "Compromise, will not spare the lives of the citizens of this village once the Akatsuki have extracted the Nine Tails from Naruto and kill the Seven Tails jinchuuriki. Tell me, LADY HOKAGE, what guarentees can you give that such a tragedy will never come to pass?!"

Tsunade takes a moment to remember the time Naruto made his promise that until he becomes Hokage, he won't die, and her giving him her charm and necklace, before answering, "Naruto will not fall! I believe in him."

Koharu asks, "And if you are mistaken? What then?"

Tsunade answers with conviction in her voice, "IF Konohagakure, and subsequently the Land of Fire, are endangered because of me, then I swear, as the Fifth Hokage, to protect them all with all my might, and my own life."

Everyone becomes quiet after that, Homura and Koharu silently taking in her response with Tsunade's face never once losing any of it's strength and fierceness. Shizune just smiles softy while looking affectionately at Tsunade, regretting her lack of faith in her and Naruto.

Homura sighs before yielding, "As you wish, then a compromise to honor your faith in him, Naruto shall be allowed to remain in active duty. However, WE shall select the additional shinobi who are to join Team Kakashi."

Tsunade replies, "Fine, I except your compromise."

Koharu orders, "Danzo, enter!", a frail looking old man walking with a cane enters. He has black shaggy hair, his right eye bandaged, an x-shaped scar on his chin. He's wearing a white shirt with a black robe over the top of it, covering his feet, to just over his right shoulder concealing his right arm which is bandaged, and covered with three large golden braces.

Tsunade greets, "Danzo.", not pleased to see him.

Danzo replies with a faked cordial tone, "Hello, princess. Been a long time."

Tsunade responds with irritation on her face, "If you're here, then that must mean one of the new team members is from the Foundation of the Anbu?"

Danzo ignores Tsunade's question, seeing as the Foundation is suppose to be disbanded, and asks Shizune to fill him in on the mission, even though he already knows from his spies.

Shizune fills him in on all the details, while he looks out the window, ending at, "They will have to leave before Kakashi finishes recuperating, Team Kakashi will need one more member. And there's not much time between now and then."

Danzo offers, "Then the choice is clear, you require an exceptionally distinguished commander, one from among the Anbu, assigned directly to the Hokage herself."

Koharu responds, "Yes! That is acceptable."

Homura adds, "You don't have any objection to THAT, do you, Tsunade?"

Tsunade grits her teeth, before replying, "No that's fine.", having planned that from the beginning, and now it coming off as Danzo's genus idea!

While Tsunade was having her uncomfortable conversion with the elders, Naruto is out looking for Hinata, she wasn't at home, so he's headed to the hospital to look for her. Passing a large tree with a heavily hooded shinobi leaning against it as Naruto is lost in thought at who will be joining their team.

Said shinobi says, "Long time no see, Naruto."

Naruto turns his head in confusion, asking, "Do I, know you?"

Walking toward Naruto, the hooded shinobi answers, "It's me!"

Still not understanding, Naruto replies, "Like I said, do I know you?"

Standing right in front of Naruto, he says in an offended tone, "Hey, I know it's been a while, but you should at least try to remember your friends, you know. Or else, it just hurts the other person's feelings."

Getting a better look at him, with his new hooded coat going down to his knee's and a satchel on his back, Naruto finally responds, "I know that irritating voice! Don't tell me, SHINO?!"

The now identified Shino replies, "Finally, you remembered."

Naruto yells out, "IDOIT, HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO RECOGNIZE YOU WITH YOUR FACE HIDDEN LIKE THAT?!"

A voice from above them says, "Shino, you're early!", before a horse-sized Akamaru lands down with Kiba on his back, now wearing a leather form fitting black jacket with zippers over the chest and sleeves, along with black pants and sandals, also zipped, matching his jacket.

Naruto asks, kind of shocked, "K-Kiba?"

Kiba excitedly shouts out, "Hey! Naruto, it was you, after all! I thought I recognized your sent!"

Naruto asks, "THAT'S what you recognized?!", getting Akamaru to bark

Naruto incredulously stuttering out, "That dog, he can't be-"

Kiba answers, "Come on! Of course it's Akamaru!, but hey, man did you grow huge! You're almost as tall a Kakashi-sensei now!"

Naruto replies, "Me? Akamaru's the one that grew huge. I didn't know dogs could get that big so fast."

Kiba nonchalantly responds, "Really? Heh, guess I never noticed because he's always with me."

Naruto says in disbelief, "How could you not notice?! He use to sit on top of your head! Right Shino?"

Shino replies despondently, "You recognized Kiba immediately."

Naruto begins to worry that Shino's going to be stuck in a sour mood all day now, not seeing why he'd be so upset at not being recognized right away. He's practically cocooned himself in clothing that makes it hard to see his face.

Being snapped out of his thoughts by Hinata saying, "Naruto-kun! When did you get back? I thought you were still out on your mission!"

Naruto turns to face her with his foxy grin, before answering, "Yeah, we just got back earlier today! It's a long way from Suna, so our mission to rescue Gaara took longer than expected. Plus Kakashi is pretty banged up and had to be hospitalized. I was actually on my way there to see if you were in and maybe pop by Kakashi's room to see how he's doing."

Hinata replies, "Oh, I hope Kakashi-sensei makes a full recovery. How bad was his injuries?"

Kiba interrupts, "Wait! Hold on a minute! So it's true how you saved the Kazekage from the Akatsuki?!"

Shino adds, "You recognized Hinata right away as well."

Naruto answers with a chuckle, ignoring Shino's comment, "Yeah, kind of. It's was only thanks to Granny Chiyo's sacrifice that Gaara made it.", becoming a little saddened at the last part.

Hinata asks, "What do mean by sacrifice and who's Granny Chiyo?"

Naruto proceeds to explain everything that happened with his mission. From running into the fake Itachi, to Gaara's death, ending with Granny Chiyo using a transference jutsu to bring him back to life.

Kiba replies, "Well shit! That sounded ruff. Glad to see everyone else made it back in one piece."

Shino complains, "Yet again I'm left out on an important mission."

KIba fires back, "Man, are ever going to let that go! You were already gone on a mission when we picked people for the Sasuke retrieval mission!"

Hinata comforts Naruto while ignoring her teammates argument, "I'm just glad you're okay Naruto-kun and that in the end you were able to save Gaara."

Naruto wraps Hinata into his arms and kisses her before replying, "Thanks Hinata-chan. It means a lot to me that you care enough to worry about me, but please don't. I don't like seeing you so worried, I prefer to see you smiling, you're much more beautiful when you're happy.", bringing a smile and a blush to her face.

Kiba interrupts their tender moment by yelling out, "Damn it! So it's also true that you are forming a harem!"

Naruto says rather surprised, "You know? Does that mean everyone knows?"

Hinata answers, "Yes Naruto-kun. Ino is very efficient when spreading gossip around. Everyone in Konoha knows about you enacting the rights of the C.R.A to restore your clan.", a blush still adorning her face.

Naruto gives an exasperated sigh while saying, "Man! At this rate all of the people in the Elemental Nations will know! Damn you Ino!"

Shino comments, "Of course all of the Elemental Nations will know. The Uzumaki clan was very famous and powerful, it's return is going to be big news."

Naruot becomes more depressed at Shino's comment, crying out, "Damn it! It's not fair! The first thing the world hears about me, is that I'm going to be some big playboy with a harem! That's not me at all! I wanted the world to know me as the greatest Hokage ever!"

Kiba snaps, "Oh shut up! You're bitching about getting to have sex with lots of babes! Keep it up and I'll kill you!"

Naruto quickly gets out of his depression and responds with humor lacing his voice, "You're jealous! Aren't you?!"

Kiba replies with an angry and embarrassed blush, "N-NO! I'm just tired of hearing you whine like a pussy!"

Naruto responds, "At least I've had pussy, mister virgin!", bringing a blush to Hinata's face as Kiba looks at her with his jaw hanging down in shock!

Kiba stutters out, "H-H-Hinata, y-you h-have had s-sex w-w-w-with Naruto!"

At this point Hinata has turned a shade redder than a tomato, stuttering out, "I-I-I, w-w-well, y-you s-see, u-um a-"

Shino comes to Hinata's defense, "Kiba, stop upsetting Hinata. What she does and with who is none of our business."

Naruto apologizes, "I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to let that slip. Please forgive me!"

Hinata responds, "I-It's okay Naruto-kun. You didn't mean to and besides, I should have told them that we are together."

Kiba apologizes, "Nah! Shino's right, it's none of our business. Sorry for upsetting you Hinata."

Hinata replies, "It's okay, you're forgiven."

Changing subjects, Kiba asks, "Anyway, where is this Fuu person that started this whole mess?"

Naruto answers, "Oh, Fuu said she wanted to go scope out some potential, whatever that means."

Hinata gets it immediately, Fuu is looking for another girl to join their harem, Kiba voices this, "For a guy who's supposedly having sex on the regular, you sure are dense. It means she's trying to pick up some girl."

Naruto face-palms before groaning out, "That can't end well. I should have known better than to let her go out by herself, but whatever, she'll have to learn the hard way I guess."

Hinata comments, "Well, good luck with Fuu. I wish I could help, but I'm about to go on a mission with my team. We're actually meeting Kurenai-sensei here before heading off."

Naruto replies, "Thanks Hinata and good luck to you too! Say hi to Kurenai-sensei for me!", with that Naruto runs off after giving Hinata a peck on the lips.

A few minutes pass as Naruto is walking down the street, wondering if he should go find Fuu to deal with whatever mess she's most likely causing, or head to the hospital to check up on Kakashi. On one hand, the mess Fuu has caused could be painful for him, such as an attack by a horde of angry women out to cut off his equipment. On the other hand, he can be bored sitting at the hospital with Kakashi-sensei, where he might end up later anyways. Choices, choices, whatever to do.

Before Naruto can make up his mind, he runs across Shikamaru and Choji talking, and blurts out, "Hey Choji! Is that you?!"

Turning around, Choji happily replies, "Naruto? Wow, it's been like forever since I last saw you! It's good to see you! How have you been?"

Akimichi Choji has spiky brown hair reaching down to his waist, swirl marks on his cheeks, and like the rest of his clan, he has a more robust physique. He's wearing a red suit with plated armor on his torso, arms, and upper legs, which is the standard attire for his clan. On the front of his chest armor is the kanji for "food" and is now wearing stud earrings.

Naruto answers, "It's good to see you to Choji! I've been doing great! What are you doing here with Shikamaru?"

Choji answers, "I'm delivering Shikamaru's lunch box for his mother, before heading out to meet up with Ino and Asuma-sensei for a mission."

Shikamaru comments, "Yeah and I hate how my mom does stuff like this, but it's too troublesome to argue with her. There's only so much female scolding I can take."

Choji starts munching down on his favorite flavor of chips, BBQ, causing Naruto to chuckle nostalgically, "Heh heh, always eating, just like old times. I didn't know it was possible, but it looks like you got fa-", Naruto stops mid-sentence just as both Shikamaru and Choji sense what Naruto is seeing.

An ink tiger is pouncing towards them in mid-attack, Naruto quickly unseals his Kubikiribocho as Shikamaru and Choji jump out of the way. Naruto then moves forward, cutting the tiger in two, causing it to splatter into a puddle of ink.

A second ink tiger jumps down from the roof top, surprising Shikamaru, who quickly starts looking around for the perpetrator as Choji grabs the tiger with his expanded hand and crushes it.

Getting into his ready stance as he catches sight of the perpetrator, Shikamaru says, "Look! over there."

At the end of the street, on top of a small building over looking them, is a young man around the same age as them. He has short, straight black hair and dark eyes which contrasts with his translucent looking pale skin. He has a scroll out on his lap and a brush in his right black gloved hand. He's wearing a short black and grey jacket with red straps that has a long right and short left sleeves, a tip-less tanto on his back, a high-collared midriff shirt, black pants, shinobi sandals and gloves with his index and thumb fingers exposed.

Seeing him, Naruto says, "I don't recognize him, but he's got a Konoha headband!", his blade resting on his right shoulder.

Shikamaru adds, "He came out of nowhere, I don't know what he wants, but someone like that, you capture first and then hand over to the torture and interrogation corps!"

The mystery guy proceeds to dip his brush in some ink and quickly draws out six identical tigers, just like the ones that attacked them.

Shikamaru orders, "Naruto, I'll cover you! GO!"

Naruto replies, "Alright!", then takes off with his blade held out to his side in his right hand.

The stranger makes a hand-sign, "The Art of Cartoon: Beast Mimicry!", and the six tigers come out of his scroll, turning man-sized.

As Naruto is about to adjust his grip to cut down the ink tigers, Shikamaru yells out, "Ignore them! Keep moving Naruto!", Shikamaru performs, "Shadow Stitching!", to cause six shadows to rise off the ground and pierce the tigers, turning them into ink blobs.

Naruto, at that same moment blurs past the tigers before Shikamaru's shadows can even leave the ground. Forcing the stranger to quickly draw his tanto and jump back, nearly being split in two as the roof where he sat splits apart and caves in at the force of Naruto's blade. Not giving the stranger anytime to recover, Naruto makes a hand-sign, "Art of The Raging Lion Mane", his hair grabing the stranger in mid-air and tying up his limbs.

Naruto comments, "Heh! Catching an opponent off-guard by opening with a powerful but easily read move, then quickly following up with a binding move while they are still air-born and unable dodge. Works every time!"

The stranger replies while struggling to get free, "Yes, an effective strategy, but not one expected from you, based on your file."

Shikamaru asks, having jumped up with Choji, landing next to Naruto and looking up at the captured perpetrator, "File? Meaning Naruto was your intended target, but why and who are you?"

Normally the stranger would just stay quiet or make up some lie, but considering that he's bound up and unable to escape, decides to be a little truthful, "I'm Sai and I attacked Uzumaki Naruto to see how strong he is.", a creepy fake smile on his face.

Naruto replies with smug smile, "Yeah, well now that you know that I'm stronger than you are, what now?"

Sai answers calmly, "Nothing. You let me go and I leave."

Choji asks, "And why would we do that?"

Shikamaru adds, "Konoha shinobi or not, attacking a fellow konoha-nin is considered an act of treason. We're handing you over to the torture and interrogation corps, so they can get to the bottom of this whole mess. As is the proper procedure in such events, and informing the Hokage of what transpired. In short, you're going nowhere but a cell."

Sai replies just as calm as before, "That would just be a waste of everyone's time. I'm here on orders from the village elders and the Hokage to join Team Kakashi. I was just getting a feel for my new teammate."

Naruto responds, "Bullshit! No way Tsunade-Baa-chan would replace Kakashi-sensei with someone that's my age! You're not nearly as strong as he is and you can't possibly have as much experience as he does!"

Shikamaru agrees, "Naruto's right, Lady Hokage wouldn't replace a shinobi of Kakashi's stature with some young no one, with Chunin level abilities. She'd choose someone from our elite Jounin forces, possibly an Anbu to lead Team Kakashi."

Sai simply replies, "Of course, but I'm not Kakashi's replacement. I'm just an additional member to the team for added protection. After all, Team Kakashi has two jinchuuriki on it, so additional strength to protect them is needed. It's rather foolish of the Hokage to intentionally put our villages most powerful weapons in harms way."

Naruto painfully tightens his grip on Sai and warns, "Don't refer to us as jinchuuriki! We have names! Fuu and Naruto! Don't go treating us like weapons! We're people!", Naruto's rage getting the better of him as his grip starts to tighten to the point that Sai's bones creak and he grimaces in pain.

Choji puts his hand on Naruto's shoulder and says, "Clam down Naruto. It doesn't matter what this guy thinks. He's not worth killing and getting thrown in prison."

Shikamaru adds, "We'll take him to Lady Hokage to see if what he says is true, then go from there."

Naruto loosens his grip a bit, just enough so that Sai stops grimacing in pain and replies, "Fine! He's not worth it!"

"Hey! You guys! What are you up to?!", Ino yells out from the ground bellow, with Fuu at her side.

Naruto turns his head back to see Ino and Fuu walking towards them, explaining where Fuu's been. Naruto is about to say hi to Ino, seeing as it's been awhile since he last saw her, and man did she get a lot hotter or what, but stops when he remembers why Fuu went out on her own. Does that mean that Fuu convinced Ino to join his harem?! That just doesn't make any sense to Naruto, Ino's a total Sasuke fan-girl, she wouldn't be interested in him! Right?!

As Naruto is lost in his confusion, Ino takes the time to look Naruto up and down, and she definitely likes what she sees! Sakura was holding out on her, probably afraid she'd make a pass at him. Sure he doesn't have that pretty-boy look that Sasuke has, but even from where she's standing, she can tell he's ripped and not in the overly bulky way some non shinobi men try to use to impress women. His form his highly compact, built for burst of great strength without having bulky muscles to slow him down, allowing for agile movement. A body that is ideal for shinobi and quite appealing to the eyes to boot. Add in his spiky long hair and those whisker marks, and you have a very rugged and some what feral look that's just as sexy as the pretty-boy look.

Then again, her tastes have always favored the more feminine look on boys, but that has to do with her secret sexual attraction to women. As a clan heiress, she's expected to produce off spring to continue her bloodline, so she's compromised by looking for boys that share feminine qualities with women. Yet, she can't help but admire Naruto's body even though it screams masculine, but he also has Fuu who just propositioned her a little while ago. So with him, she could satisfy all her sexual urges, but it's still brings up the same problem she has with Sasuke, not wanting to give up her position as a clan heiress.

Bringing Ino out of her thoughts, Shikamaru repeats himself, "Hey Ino! I said that we were attacked by this Sai guy.", pointing at Sai that's bound up by Naruto's hair.

Ino replies with a slight blush, "O-Oh, sorry. So uh, Sai was it? Attacked you guys and now you have detained him?"

Choji answers, "Yup! That pretty much sums it up."

Fuu asks, "Why would this stranger attack Naruto?"

Shikamaru answers, "He says that he's the new addition to your team and was just seeing how strong Naruto is. But I have my reservations about that, so we're going to take him to Lady Tsunade to sort this all out. How troublesome."

Fuu responds by nodding her head and asking Naruto, "Hey! Naruto! How about you seal up his chakra so we can transport him a little bit easier? Unless you want to carry him around by your hair?"

Naruto snaps out of his stupor and replies, "Oh, ah ,yeah. That's a good idea!", bringing Sai down, right in front of him, moving his hair aside to reveal Sai's open midriff.

Going through a few hand-signs, Naruto then places his right hand on Sai's stomach, causing lines of Kanji to form a seal there, sealing up Sai's chakra.

Before releasing Sai, Naruto warns, "I also placed a Hirashin mark in that formula, so don't get any ideas about trying to flee. You won't get far and even if you some how do, I can find you in an instant. Got it?"

Sai replies rather smugly, "Of course Naruto, like I said, this all just a waste of time, so I have no need to run."

Naruto proceeds to release Sai, dropping him on his feet, prepared to defend himself incase Sai tries something. Sai simple just stands there with his fake smile, like he was never in any danger in the first place.

Ino speaks up, "That's strange? I make it a policy of mine to know every cute boy in Konoha, but I don't have a clue as to who you are."

Fuu responds in a shocked voice, "Wait! I thought you were going to join Naruto's harem! You can't be attracted to other guys!"

That gets a surprised reaction out of everybody there, but Sai, Shikamaru and Fuu. Sai seems emotionless, Shikamaru just utters troublesome, and Fuu is waiting for an explanation from Ino. Naruto's jaw drops while Choji is utterly confused and returns to his bag of BBQ chips.

Ino replies, "What! I never agreed to that! I just said I'd consider it, but it was highly unlikely!", while secretly thinking that it wasn't so unlikely now.

Fuu just pouts with her arms crossed and mutters out, "Yeah, but I thought you'd change your mind when you saw Naruto. You're a beautiful girl who isn't opposed to experimenting with me sexually, and you're friends with both Naruto and Hinata. You're practically perfect, exactly what I've been looking for."

Ino responds playfully, "Oh! It's sweet of you to say and very true that I'm beautiful. So I can understand your disappointment, but I'm still thinking some things through right know. But you never know, I'm might just change my mind later.", giving Naruto a playful wink.

Choji asks, "What?! Are you serious Ino?!"

Ino is just laughing at the jaw dropped expression on Naruto's face and the blood trickling down Fuu's nose with hope-filled eyes.

Shikamaru says in exasperation, "Save your breath Choji. It's not worth it."

Choji than asks, "Then do you want my help with transporting this Sai character to the Hokage?"

Shikamaru answers, "No. Naruto and I can handle it. You can just take Ino with you to meet up with Asuma-sensei for your mission assignment."

Choji replies, "Alright then, see you later Shikamaru, Naruto!", taking his leave while dragging a chuckling Ino along.

With Ino and her annoying laughter gone, Naruto and Shikamaru escort Sai to the Hokage with a pouting Fuu trailing after them.

Inside Tsunade's official office, she is going over why she's assigning the Anbu in front of her to Team Kakashi, ending her explanation to him, "and so, that's why I need you to fill in for your predecessor."

An Anbu in their standard gear and a cat mask replies, "Kakashi-senpai? Those are huge shoes to fill. I am greatly honored."

Tsunade continues, "Understand this will not be a black ops mission, but a regular mission. Therefore, you must remove your mask and be assigned a code name. While on this mission, you will go by the name Yamato."

The newly minted Yamato removes his mask to reveal his face while replying, "Understood.", he has short brown hair and almond-shaped eyes, is wearing a happuri-style forehead protector that frames his face, and the neck of his black shirt is form fitting and goes up to his chin.

Tsunade adds, "There's one more thing, a new face from the Foundation, the Anbu training division, is also assigned to Team Kakashi. You must keep a close eye on him."

Yamato asks, "And the reason for this?"

Tsunade answers, "Danzo selected this newcomer, and Danzo is not only a member of the Hawk Faction that once opposed the Third Hokage, but also the founder of a separate detail within the Anbu, a training division know as the Foundation. I know you've heard of them, after all, you use to be a member yourself. Though the Foundation has since been dissolved, and Danzo removed, I can't help but be suspicious of his motives."

Yamato replies, "No disrespect, Milady, but maybe you are overreacting?"

Tsunade responds, "Perhaps, but no matter, go. Join your new team."

BANG! BANG! BANG! Naruto knocks on Tsundes's door while yelling out, "Hey! Baa-chan! Open up! We got a problem out here!"

Tsunade rubs her temples while sighing out, "Yamato, open the door before the brat breaks it down. You might as well meet the most troublesome member of your new team now."

Yamato replies, "Yes Milady.", while walking to the door and opening it, revealing Naruto and Shikamaru holding Sai by his shoulders, his hands bound by rope, and Fuu standing behind them with a curious look on her face.

Naruto responds to the opening door, "About time! Hey we have this-, uh, who are you?!", surprised to see a mask-less Anbu behind the door. He never saw one without some sort of animal mask on to hide their identity.

Shikamaru irritably says, "See, I told you Naruto! The Hokage is busy with something important if her door is locked! Not to mention that Shizune tried to tell you the same thing as we passed her!"

Tsunade yells out from her desk, "Just come in already! You're trying my patience!"

Yamato ushers everyone inside, noticing Sai from his standard Root uniform, narrowing his eyes in the suspicion that Tsunade is right about Danzo. Tsunade also notices Sai's attire as Naruto's group stands before her, causing her eyes to sharpen and her hands to tighten into fists.

Tsunade asks in a deadly serious tone, "What is this all about?"

Shikamaru takes charge, stopping Naruto from angering Tsunade any further, "We captured this suspicious individual after he attacked us outside the Chunin Exam Committee building. He's has informed us that he was on orders from the village elders and yourself to be apart of Team Kakashi and was testing Naruto's abilities."

Naruto adds, "Yay! We wiped the floor with him and I sealed up his chakra to bring him here to confirm that his story is bogus!"

Tsunade lets out a frustrated sigh and informs them, "I'm afraid that his story is somewhat accurate. He was appointed by Danzo and approved by the other elders to be on Team Kakashi, but no one gave him any orders to attack you! If it was up to me, I'd have him thrown in a cell and interrogated before being locked up in Konoha's maximum security prison for treason! Unfortunately, he falls under the protection of the elders at the moment, and can't be charged, but I will be having words with them about his unprofessional behavior. Remove the seal on him and let him go."

Shikamaru utters out, "How troublesome."

Naruto blows up, "What?! This jerk is on our team! And he just gets a pass for attacking a fellow Konoha-nin! What the hell?!"

Sai replies smugly with his fake smile, "See. I told you this was a waste of time. Now release me like the Hokage ordered you to."

Before Naruto could completely explode, Yamato speaks up in a cold tone, "Sai, was it? I suggest you drop the attitude if you want to stay on this team. Last I checked, Danzo doesn't take kindly to failure or disobedience."

That gets Sai feeling the closest thing to fear he has ever felt, dropping his smug like smile and apologizes, "Yes, you're right. Forgive my behavior."

Yamato replies, "Good. Now go and prepare to meet up as an official member of Team Kakashi in half an hour, I'll send you the location shortly. Naruto, would you please remove the seal blocking Sai's chakra now."

Naruto begrudgingly complies and asks, "Who up and made you my boss?"

Tsunade answers, "I did. His name is Yamato and he's Kakashi's replacement as team captain, so you'll be taking his lead."

Naruto mutters out in embarrassment, "Well, at least having an Anbu replace Kakashi-sensei makes more sense."

Fuu just happily appears in front of Yamato offering her hand as she says, "I'm Fuu! It's good to meet you! Welcome to Team Kakashi!"

Smiling at the fact that at least Fuu's respectful, Yamato takes her hand and responds, "Thanks, and it's good to meet you too."

Sai, after having Naruto remove his seal, makes a one-handed hand-sign and disappears in a swirl of ink while saying, "Understood. I'll meet up with team Kakashi in half an hour."

Naruto asks Tsunade, "Does he really have to be on my team? I can't stand that arrogant asshole!"

Tsunade answers, "I told you, he was assigned to Team Kakashi by Danzo, not me. It's a compromise for allowing both you and Fuu to go on this mission without Kakashi, so bare with it."

Naruto replies, "Fine, but who the hell is this Danzo guy?!"

Fuu adds, "And why does it sound like he has power over you?"

Tsunade answers rather heatedly, "Danzo is one of our villages most trusted elders, even though he once opposed the Third Hokage. Also, he does NOT have power over me! He can just make things harder on all of us, mostly you two, so just let me handle him. Got it?!"

Naruto and Fuu just nod their heads while Tsunade continues, "Good. Now go, you'll be meeting up as the reformed Team Kakashi in bit.", with that Naruto and Fuu left with Yamato disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Feeling an approaching headache, Tsunade pulls out a hidden bottle of sake from her desk and starts downing it.

Half an hour later, Team Kakashi is standing outside a non-descript building for their official meeting. Yamato is has changed into the standard Konoha uniform with the exception of the swirl marks on his arms.

Sai says, "Hello again.", with his typical fake smile in place.

Naruto replies heatedly, "Damn, your still going to be apart of our team?!"

Yamato continues his introduction while trying to ignore Naruto's commotion, "So, um, starting today, I'll be filling in for Kakashi."

Sakura asks, "Naruto, you know this guy?"

Fuu answers for him, "Yup. He apparently attacked Naruto awhile ago and got his ass handed to him."

Sai comments, "Sorry about our earlier encounter. I was just curious to see how strong my future teammate might be, and whether or not I'd have to come to the little boy's aid."

That gets Naruto to explode, "WHAT?! YOU GOT A LOT OF NERVE TO SAY THAT! I KICKED YOUR ASS IN LIKE A SECOND! STOP ACTING HIGH AND MIGHTY YOU JERK!"

Sakura's having to hold Naruto back from attacking him, while yelling out at him, "Hey! We have to work together! So don't fight right from the get go!", changing her attention to Sai, "And you, that wasn't very nice."

Sai asks, "Really? Sorry about that ugly girl."

This time it's Sakura's turn to explode, "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

Holding back an enraged Sakura, Yamato says, "Whoa! Easy, Sakura! Follow your own advice!"

Fuu says, "Hey! Sakura's not ugly you jerk! Sure, she's not as beautiful as Hinata or Ino, but she's still very attractive in her own ways!"

Sakura flinches at that, stopping her attempted assault on Sai to shrink down on herself. It's true that she's never figured herself to be ugly, but she also knows she's not as good looking as Ino and Hinata, not mention several other women in Konoha. She knows that Fuu was trying to come to her aid, but her naïve honesty actually hurts a bit.

Forcing a smile on her face, Sakura says, "Thanks Fuu, I think?"

Fuu responds, "No problem Sakura!", missing the unsure way she was thanked.

Yamato tries to get everyone back on track by saying, "Anyway, since we're going to be deploying almost immediately, we really don't have time to socialize. So, um, why don't you guys go ahead and introduce yourselves."

Naruto begrudgingly starts the introductions with a frown and his eyes narrowed at Sai, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura, in the same manner as Naruto, goes next, "Haruno Sakura."

Fuu in her blissful ignorance replies with a smile, "Fuu, soon to be Uzumaki Fuu."

Sai finishes with his usual fake smile, "I am Sai"

Yamato responds, "All right, now that that's over with, let me explain our mission. The five of us will head to Tenchi Bridge, capture the Akatsuki spy who has infiltrated Orochimaru's organization, and bring him or her back here. This is our best chance to gain intelligence on Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke, information we can then use to plan Orochimaru's assassination and Sasuke's retrieval. So keep that in mind! As soon as everyone's gear is packed, rendezvous at the main gate, then we'll depart!"

They all separate to get their gear, Yamato and Sai going their own ways, and Naruto, Fuu and Sakura are walking slowly together. Taking the time to talk about their new addition to the team, Sai.

Naruto says, "That jerk Sai, I already can't stand him! Why does he have to be on the team just because some old fart named Danzo wants him to? Fuu's standing in as Sasuke's replacement, we don't need anyone else! Team Kakashi was fine with just the four of us!"

Fuu asks rather worried, "Stand in?! Does that mean I'm going to be kicked off Team Kakashi when we've retrieved Sasuke?!"

Naruto quickly corrects himself, "NO! We'd never kick you off Team Kakashi, you're always going to be a member! Ya know!"

Sakura adds, "Yeah! What Naruto meant, was that you fill up our team to the required number. That's all!"

Fuu sniffles a little with small tears coming from her eyes as she replies, "R-really? Y-you're not j-just, "sniff", saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

Naruto grabs Fuu by her shoulders, getting her to look up at him as he says, "Of course we mean it! I promise you that I'll never abandon you for any reason! I'll always love you Fuu and nothing will change that! Ya'Know!"

Sakura adds, "Yeah, we're friends Fuu and that won't change, I promise!"

Fuu drys her tears by hugging Naruto and replying in a muffled voice, "Good. I don't ever want to be alone again."

After a few kisses from Naruto and a hug from Sakura, did Fuu finally believe them enough to let go of Naruto and continue heading to get their gear.

Naruto starts back up as they continue along, "I still don't like Sai acting like he's replacing Sasuke!"

Sakura comments, "He is rude, and has a foul mouth, but, there is something familiar about him, His face, his voice, they remind me of Sasuke."

Naruto yells out in protest, "Not at all! Sasuke's way cooler-, I mean,!"

Sakura smiles at Naruto fumbling at complimenting Sasuke by accident and responds, "You're right. Sasuke IS a little cooler than Sai."

Naruto again yells out, "More than a little! Sasuke's a bazillion times better!"

Fuu dryly comments, "I've never met Sasuke before, so I can't really say who's cooler."

Naruto responds, "Trust me! Sasuke's way cooler!"

With Sai at his place, he's packing up his gear, about to pack an old hand drawn book with a picture of him as a boy on the front, when he suddenly senses an attack! Turning around quickly and drawing his tanto, he blocks the blade by an apparent "Anbu".

Said Anbu comments, "Very nice reflexes, but remember, never let your guard down."

Sai asks, "What do you want, sir?"

Pulling out a closed envelope and handing it to Sai, the Anbu answers, "From Lord Danzo, your top-secret mission."

As Sai opens the envelope, the Anbu explains, "Listen, this secret mission you are on, is directed by Lord Danzo. The future of Konoha depends upon your success."

Suddenly the Anbu senses something and quickly throws a kunai into the tree branches outside Sai's window. With a loud meow, a cat pops out of the tree's branches and runs away.

The Anbu says with relief, "Just a cat. In any case, mistakes will not be tolerated, like the one you made by attacking Uzumaki Naruto and being captured. Just be thankful that the Hokage didn't press this issue, otherwise, well, you know what happens to the Roots that are exposed."

Sai replies, "I understand."

As the Anbu is about to leave, he notices Sai's book with surprise and asks, "You, still carry that thing?"

Sai tries to explan while looking away, "This is-"

The Anbu interrupts, "Those of the Foundation have no names, no emotions-"

Sai continues, "No past, and no future. There is ONLY the mission."

The anbu holds up a hand-sign while saying, "We are the Roots that support the great trunk of Konoha, invisible, from inside the earth. Never forget that."

Sai replies, "Yes, sir."

In the Hokage's office, Sakura has just filled in Tsunade on the meeting Team Kakashi just had, causing her to comment, "So, that bad already, eh."

Sakura replies, "I'm afraid so, Milady."

Tsunade replies, "Well, if it can't be helped, then you'll probably have to keep Naruto on an even shorter leash than usual."

Sakura responds, "I will try, but-", knock, knock.

Tsunade says, "Enter!"

Danzo enters as Sakura wonders who he is and Tsunade asks, "Danzo, what is it?"

Danzo asks, "Were you able to assign a distinguished Anbu to lead Sai's team, Princess Tsunade?"

Tsunade answers, "I have selected an exemplary shinobi with experience from as far back as the Third Hokage's rule."

Danzo comments, "Very well. I just hope he's not rooted too deeply in the pacifist teachings of that push over Sarutobi. Just as the Third Hokage was rooted in the teachings of your grandfather.", bringing a tick mark to Tsunade's forehead before turning into a full blown scowl as he smugly smiles in her face.

Turning around and leaving, Danzo says, "In any case, I am relieved. Now, if you'll excuse me, Princess.", closing the door behind him as Tsunade's face sours.

Sakura asks, "Um, who was, that?"

Tsunade answers, "Someone who, long ago, competed with the late Sarutobi-sensei over the seat of Third Hokage. His name is Danzo, and he's the leader of a hard-line martial faction founded on rigid principles. He's aslo Sai's superior. As a student of the moderate Third Hokage and the granddaughter of the First Hokage, he despises me."

Taking it all in Sakura stays quiet until Tsunade says, "It's been almost an hour, Sakura."

Sakura replies, "Yes, ma'am, time to go."

After meeting up at the gate, Team Kakashi heads out to Tenchi Bridge with Yamato in the lead. They are walking on the ground in a moderate pace as Naruto repeatedly growls softly while looking at Sai.

Eventually Sai asks, "What?"

Naruto just looks at him with one eye while thinking about how much Sai does look like Sasuke, and even sounds like him.

Sai then says, "If you keep looking at me, I will hit you."

Naruto explodes while holding up his right fist at Sai, "WHAT? YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU? NO WAY! NOT AFTER THE BEAT DOWN I GAVE YOU!", taking back what he thought earlier.

Sai calmly replies, "Look, I really don't have anything personal against you."

Naruto fires back while pointing at him, "Yeah right!"

Sai continues, "I'm just trying out a certain personality type."

Naruto yells in response, "Well, you're doing a shitty job! We don't need someone like you on this team! In fact, I bet we'd be a lot better off without you, jerk!"

Yamato replies, "That's enough, Naruto! Sai is your TEAMMATE now, so even if you don't get along, you're still going to have to find a way to TRUST each other. I know Kakashi-senpai taught you better than this. So, for Kakashi's sake, lose the attitude."

Naruto fires back, "NO! HE'S NOT ONE OF US! THE FINAL MEMBER OF TEAM KAKASHI IS UCHIHA SASUKE! Even on his best day, all this loser is, all he could ever hope to be, is a Sasuke WANNABE! He will NEVER be our TEAMMATE."

Sai responds with a smirk, "Fine by me. The last person I'd ever want to be compared to is some traitorous cockroach who abandoned his village to go to Orochimaru just for power."

Naruto's blood begins to boil as he steps forward, clenching his right fist as he says, "How dare you-"

Sakura cuts Naruto off by holding up her left arm, blocking Naruto's path as she says, "Regardless of either of your opinions, Naruto doesn't know you all that well yet, but that's no excuse for him to judge you. I'm sorry. Please forgive Naruto."

Naruto stutters out in disbelief, "S-Sakura."

Yamato breaths a sigh of relief as he mutters, "Good to see there's at least one levelheaded person on this team."

Fuu just looks on, unsure if a fight is still going to breakout, because she can tell that Sakura is angry, muttering to herself, "Strange?"

Sai replies, "Hey, just like I said, fine by me."

Sakura smiles while saying, "Really? Oh, good.", then proceeds to give Sai a straight right to the face, sending him crashing into the ground a few feet back.

While everyone else is surprised by Sakura's actions, except Fuu, Sai is wiping the blood from his mouth,while Sakura says in a dangerous tone, "I don't care if you forgive me."

Sai replies unconcerned, "Ah, your smile was fake."

Sakura continues in the same tone as before, "You don't know Sasuke, never speak as if you do! Just keep badmouthing Sasuke and next time I won't hold back."

Sai responds, "Okay, I'll keep my mouth shut, but, that clever use of a fake smile, I'll have to remember that."

Naruto asks in frustration, "What are you talking about?! How stupid are you?!"

Sai answers as if he's quoting from a book, "The best way to defuse a troublesome situation is by smiling, even if it is a fake smile, it will fool more people than you think. Or so I've read. Though it never seems to work for me.", picking himself off the ground.

Fuu suggests, "Maybe it's because you're always using a fake smile, so it just comes off as creepy."

Yamato makes a hand-sign, "Four Pillar Prison Technique!", causing the ground to break as wooden pillars rise from the ground, forming a large wooden prison cell behind him.

Yamato then warns, "We only have five days to get to Tenchi Bridge. Keep it up and I'll throw all of you in a cage!"

Naruto looks somewhat concerned, having never seen such a jutsu before, let alone a wood release! He only thought that there were five elemental chakra natures, maybe it's a kekkei genkai?

Fuu is wondering what she did to get in trouble, Naruto was the one shouting and Sakura was the one that hit Sai. She didn't do anything wrong!

Sai is just calmly watching, having already known about Yamato's abilities from Danzo.

Sakura is shocked as she thinks about how could Captain Yamato know wood-style ninjutsu known only to the First Hokage?!

Yamato crosses his arm as he gives an ultimatum, "Now, I'll give you two choices. Spend the rest of the day crammed inside a wooden box reacquainting yourselves with the meaning of teamwork, or enjoy a night at a comfortable Inn with a relaxing hot spring."

His face and tone then twist into a looming and creepily dark state as he adds, "You don't really know me either. I prefer the kind and gentle approach, but I'm not against using more DRACONIAN methods when necessary."

With that last bit, Naruto, Fuu, Sakura, and surprisingly, even Sai feels a chill go up their spines, getting them to just nod their heads and pick option two.

At a nearby inn a few hours later, Naruto his hiding his lower face in the hot spring with a towel folded on his head. He's not very comfortable getting to know guys while naked in a public hot spring, wearing only his necklace, trying to hide his equipment by closing his legs and pulling his knees to his chest.

A very relaxed Yamato comments, "Aah, now, this is a much better way to get to know each other!", getting both Naruto and Sai to just stare at him.

In response to their silence, Yamato reverts back to his creepy mode and asks, "Don't you men think so?"

Causing Naruto to quickly stand up while backing up from Yamato and answering, "In a HOT SPRING?! If you say so!", thinking that Captain Yamato is a weirdo.

Sai comments with his fake smile while looking at Naruto exposed private parts, "Huh, didn't expect you to be that big. I thought that with the way you carry around that over-sized sword, that you were compensating for something abysmal."

That gets Naruto to quickly cover his junk and sink back into the water while yelling out, "STOP EYEING MY JUNK SAI! WHAT?! ARE YOU INTO GUYS OR SOMETHING?! AH! I'M NOT COMFORTABLE IN THIS SETTING AT ALL!", being heard by the women's side.

As the women start giggling and Sakura tries to disappear in the water from embarrassment, Fuu is trying to pry the wooden separation apart to peek on the men's side.

Noticing that everyone is looking at Fuu, Sakura quickly moves to stop her while yelling out in shocked embarrassment, "Fuu! W-What the hell are you doing?! Stop it!", trying to pry Fuu away from the opening she made.

Fuu answers while looking through the opening she made, "I've already got my fill of peeking on the women in here. Now I want a peek at Naruto's naked, glistening body."

That causes a lot of the women there to either sink deeply in the water or grab their towels to cover their bodies, never expecting to be prey to a woman's eyes. Sakura quickly let goes of Fuu to better cover her own body while blushing a crimson color.

Sakura scolds Fuu, "You can't just peek on women in the hot springs just because your a woman too! It's perverted! And why do you want to peek on Naruto?! You two have been having sex, right? So that means you've seen him naked before!"

Fuu answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "Yeah, I've seen Naruto naked before, but that doesn't mean I'll ever get tired of seeing his perfectly chiseled bronze body and his large dick. I'm not allowed to have sex with him while we're on a mission, so I want to get my fix while I still can."

Sakura stutters out with the memory of seeing Naruto fucking Hinata on her mind, "T-That still d-doesn't make it r-right! You're invading o-others privacy!", secretly wanting to get a peek too.

Fuu just mutters out, "Damn. I can't see anything, but the tops of a few heads. This side must be risen up higher than the men's side, I can't a good look this way. Maybe if I climb up on top of the separation I can get a good look?"

Hearing several coughs, Fuu and Sakura look behind them to see the remaining women giving them disapproving stares. Some of them telling them that if they don't leave, they'll go get management to have them removed. Also that they'd be informing management about this incident, it was the first time in the history of that Inn, and probably all Inns, that women had to be banned from the hot springs for peeking.

Back on the men's side while the commotion with Fuu was happening, turning a few heads there, but unable to hear what's being said, Yamato exits the water and wraps a towel around his waist as Naruto distances himself from Sai.

Yamato says, "Well, that's enough bonding for me, but Naruto, I want to talk to you in private later, ok?"

Naruto asks, "Sure, but why do want to talk to me privately?"

Yamato answers, "It has to do with your seal. Lets keep it at that for the moment.", giving Naruto a knowing look.

Naruto just nods his head while placing his hand on top of his stomach. That gets Sai to wonder what about Naruto's seal is needed to be discussed in private and should it be something Lord Danzo needs to know?

Later that night, Naruto is sitting across from Yamato at his little table in his room, ready to discuss his seal.

Yamato starts, "Before leaving Konoha, I had a meeting with Lord Jiraiya, Lady Hokage, and Kakashi-senpai, that was when I was made aware of the alteration you made to your seal. It seems that Kakashi had already figured out that you did something to it, but it wasn't until Jiraiya told us that he was fully convinced that you had. Jiraiya told us everything about what happened when he tampered with the Nine Tails seal, including how you nearly killed him. It was because of that fact, that you decided to add another seal on top of the Eight Trigram Seal, correct?"

Naruto answers, "Yes. After almost killing pervy sage, I decided that until I can control the Nine Tails chakra, that it'd be better off sealed away. I don't want to accidently hurt someone precious to me, or worse, kill them! So after my skills in sealing jutsu was strong enough, I convinced pervy sage to give me the key to the trigram seal. I needed the key to properly control the flow of the Nine Tails chakra as I placed my own tetragram seal, and to help maintain stability of the trigram seal. I told him exactly what I wanted to do, but he made me alter my original plans, so that I can still retain the enhanced recovery abilities from the Nine Tails chakra. In short, I still heal faster and recover my stamina like I use to, but I am unable to enter any state of change by the Nine Tails chakra."

Yamato asks, "Does that just mean the jinchuuriki's cloak?"

Naruto answers, "No. It also includes the sharpened claws and teeth, the red eyes, and most importantly, the high speed regeneration. I won't be able to have a fist sized hole punched into me again, and expect it and the damaged organs to heal quickly. I'd need medical aid and I'd still probably have a scar afterwards, but on the bright side, the Nine Tails is unable to take me over again, hurting the people I love."

Yamato replies, "Well, that's good and all, but if you can't use large amounts of the Nine Tails chakra, then how will you be able to learn to control it?"

Naruto responds, "Taking control will be more of a fight of wills, not of getting a feel for it's chakra. I realized this when the Nine Tails first started taking me over, I felt unimaginable rage overflow my body, eroding my will to the point that the Nine Tail's will took over my body. I think that if I want to control it's power, I must over power it's will instead. So to increase the strength of my will, I must become strong on my own, not relying on the Nine Tails strength like I use to."

Yamato smile at Naruto's forethought, but comments, "It's good to see you know that, but Jiraiya also said that by adding another seal, even though it does make it stronger, it also erodes the Eight Trigrams seal faster, meaning the seal will naturally fail in about two years, and that's if you're lucky. Also any further tampering could cause catastrophic damage to the seal, ending with the same result, just sooner."

Naruto nods his head in agreement, but has to ask, "You seem to know just about everything about my added seal, so why ask me about it?"

Yamato answers, "Because I need to hear from you that no matter what happens, you won't remove the second seal. Even if it means that Sasuke gets away and we fail this mission. Understand?"

Naruto replies, "Of course I understand! If I removed it now, then the Nine Tailed Fox could almost stroll out of the trigram seal with how much of it's chakra that would suddenly flood my body! Then it'd be free to kill everyone, but even if Sasuke escapes, we can still find him again later! I'm not stupid! Ya'Know!"

Yamato responds, "Good to hear that Naruto, but there is one more thing I need to tell you before you leave."

Naruto asks, "What's that? Captain Yamato."

Yamato answers, "It's about your theory on controlling the Nine Tails. I think you're missing a key component."

Naruto asks, "Uh? What would that be?"

Yamato replies, "Your anger. You said yourself that right before the fox took over, you were flooded with rage. Increasing the strength of your body and will are good, but I noticed that you still let your anger get the best of you."

Naruto responds, "So what if I do sometimes? It has nothing to do with fighting the Fox's rage!"

Yamato corrects him, "I'm afraid it does. If you're more likely to give into anger, than it will be easier for the Fox to get you to give in to it's rage. Thus allowing it to breakdown your will with ease, so before you try and take control of it's power, I suggest that you first get control of your own anger."

Naruto takes a moment to think it over, it is a sound theory, before he asks, "But how am I suppose to get control over my own anger?"

Yamato answers, "Well, you could take some anger management classes, or try meditating. I think the best way to do it, is by gaining experience. After all, it's by going through battles with anger rising up inside you, that you get a feel on how to reel it in, because losing yourself to anger in battle can and will get you killed. The fear of death tends to overwrite everything else, so by being in life and death situations, you can start conditioning yourself in controlling your anger."

Naruto replies, "Thanks, I guess? I'll try those first things out first, if you don't mind?"

Yamato respond with a smile, "Sure, but the life and death option tends to happen whether or not you want it to. For that is the life of a shinobi, a constant struggle between life and death."

Naruto decides to take his leave now, wishing Yamato a good night as he shuts the door behind him.

The next morning Sai is sitting on the edge of the town, drawing the scenery in his sketch book, not noticing Sakura walking up behind him until she comments, "Never figured you for the artistic type."

Looking back at her, Sai replies, "Looks can be deceiving."

Sakura bends forward with her hands on her knee's to get a better look at Sai's drawing, before responding, "Don't I know it. You know, for someone so rough on the outside, you seem pretty sensitive on the inside.", smiling at the end of her comment.

Sai asks, "That fake smile again, don't tell me you're going to slug me now?"

Sakura answers with sharpened eyes and a grin, "Only if you give me a reason."

Sai replies, "I'll try not to."

Sakura responds with humor laced in her voice, "I'm only playing with you.", changing subjects, she then asks, "So, what are you sketching? I would have thought that a place like this would have you drawing a landscape, but this is an abstract. It's still nice though. What are you going to call it?"

Sai answers, "I don't know."

Sakura asks in response, "You don't have a title for it yet?"

Sai explains, "There is no title. I mean, I've drawn thousands, if not tens of thousands, of sketches over time, but I've never titled any of them."

A confused Sakura asks for clarity, "Huh, I thought all artists named their work? Even if it's just something simple, to convey the thoughts, feelings and emotions, they felt and experienced while creating the piece."

Further explaining while still sketching, Sai says, "Honestly, whenever I try to give them titles, nothing good comes to mind. The right words escape me, and I just don't feel anything."

Naruto chimes in, "Is that why you're such an insensitive jerk?", both him and Fuu having come to get them.

Fuu doesn't wait for an answer and says, "Captain Yamato sent us to get you two, it's time to go!"

As Sakura stretches while saying ok, Naruto walks up to Sai and stares at his sketch, commenting, "Humph! That drawing's nothing special."

Sai replies, "Sure, just like you."

Fuu is the one to yell at that remark, "What?! Naruto is very special! He's nice, powerful, loving, handsome, and he has huge penis too!"

Sakura comments, "I don't think you had to mention Naruto's size, he was just talking about Naruto in general.", a sweat-drop framing her head.

Naruto just goes off on Sai, "I hate you! If you got a problem with me, don't give me that fake smile! Just say it! AND I'LL FIGHT YOU ANYTIME!"

Sai responds with his face unchanged, "But I don't hate you, Naruto. As a matter of fact, I don't feel anything toward you at all, good or bad. Please just go on ahead. I'll catch up as soon as I've packed.", moving to collect all his belongings.

Sakura offers to help while picking up a book, causing her to ask, "This, it's not a printed copy. Did you draw this too?"

Sai replies while grabbing his book from her, "Yeah"

Sakura comments, "Wow, your own picture book. Hey, while we're on the road, is it okay if I flip through it?"

Sai answers, "Sorry, but no. It's not finished yet. Plus I don't really show it to others, because it belongs to my older brother.", bringing a silent surprise to everyone there, though, not as much to the hidden Yamato.

Later that night, Yamato creats a house using his, "Wood Style: Four Pillar House", jutsu for them to camp out in. Once everyone is ready to turn in for the night, Yamato gathers them around to go over their mission.

Yamato starts off, "Sakura, there are a few things I especially need to ask you."

Sakura asks, "What about?"

Yamato answers, "With regard to the Akatsuki member Sasori. I received his file from Sunagakure, but it would be helpful if you could fill in any blanks about his personality, speech patterns, mannerisms, or quirks. After all, you're the only one here who's gone toe-to-toe with him."

Naruto asks, What do you need to know all that for?"

Yamato explains, "The Akatsuki spy who has infiltrated Orochimaru's ranks expects to rendezvous with Sasori at Tenchi Bridge. They might catch me right away, but I'm going to try to approach them disguised as Sasori."

Sai comments, "Spy work entails pretty high risk, so your target will definitely have their guard up."

Yamato replies, "True, and since there's still a small chance this is an Akatsuki trap, I've planned for that possibility as well. That's why I'll approach first, alone, while the four of you will lie in wait until I signal you to move."

Fuu asks, "What should we do if you're killed before you can signal us?"

Naruto responds, "Oh come on Fuu, Captain Yamato is from the Anbu! It's highly unlikely that he'd be taken out that easily!"

Sai replies, "Not necessarily. If this a trap, then Captain Yamato could be struck down the very moment he approaches the spy."

Sakura comments, "There was an Akatsuki spy, Yura, in Suna as well, and the way Sasori mentioned it just before he died, I don't think it's a lie, but it could still be one."

Sai continues, " Either way, this spy is most likely quite stong and accomplished, and could take down Captain Yamato quickly."

Naruto responds, "Yeah, but so are we! Captain Yamato won't be killed just like that!"

Yamato replies, "It's nice you're so confident in my abilities Naruto, but the fact remains, I could be taken out the moment I arrive, just like Fuu said. In that event, I want Sakura to take charge of the mission, seeing as she's the most levelheaded one of you, also the most intelligent, based off her file anyways. I'd prefer that you'd all retreat, but this might also be our only chance to gain intelligence on Orochimaru, so it'll fall to Sakura's best judgment."

Sai asks, "Is it wise to have Sakura, who's emotionally motivated, take charge? Wouldn't it be better for me to lead in such an event, seeing as I'm not motivated to risk all our lives to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke?"

Naruto protests, "No way in hell would I ever fallow your lead! I'd rather-"

Yamato stops Naruto's rant, "Enough! This is exactly why I can't let you, Sai, take lead if I'm taken out. Naruto would go off the rails and endanger the team, but he'll listen to Sakura because she shares his same motivations, so he won't second guess her orders like he would yours."

Sai yields, "Understood."

Yamato gets everyone back on track, "Now, assuming I don't get killed right off the bat, here's the mission from A to Z. Our one and only goal is a LIVE CAPTURE, the target must NOT be killed or injured, no matter what. Even if it means having to fight them. If they're killed, we lose our only source of intelligence. Therefore, this mission is even harder than when you have to take down the enemy, and because it's such a delicate situation, this must go off without a hitch. So, while the four of you act as backup, I'll go ahead and try to capture the target by myself. If, by some chance, they see through my disguise and realize I am, in fact, not Sasori, a battle will likely ensue. Then, and only then, do you shift to combat mode, entering the fray on my signal alone. We fight in pairs at all times. Every warrior's action will be covered by their partner. The keyword, people, is TEAMWORK. So, here are the pairings. Squad one will be, Naruto and Sai. Squad two will be Fuu and me, with Sakura hanging back in the rear."

Sakura tries to protest, "But-"

Yamato clarifies, "You're the team's one and only medical shinobi. We can't afford to have you injured, so I want you away from the action as much as possible. Only acting to heal the injured if needed, and in the worst case, replacing a downed member."

Naruto gives Sai a sour look, recognizing it, Sai says with his fake smile, "It seems we're partners now."

Naruto loudly protests, "Oh, c'mon, Captain! Team me up with anyone, just not him!"

Yamato enters his looming creepy mode, "And yet you continue to complain.", getting Naruto to back off.

Fuu suggests, "Why not just pair me and Naruto together? You said yourself that they don't get along."

Yamato replies normally, "True, but it would be dangerous to pair two jinchuuriki together, for this could still be an Akatsuki trap. This way, both of you have added protection and are split up, making it harder for the Akatsuki to target the both of you."

Understanding the truth of the matter, though reluctantly, Fuu yields, "Okay, I understand Captain Yamato."

Yamato continues, "In light of what I just told you, this isn't standard procedure, but half of tomorrow will be focused on pair simulation exercises. Everything I know about you four comes from your files. I need to assess firsthand your battle style and skills, the makeup of your jutsu, et cetera. Clearly, it's the only way I'm going to forge this team into the cohesive fighting unit it needs to be. Kakashi-senpai may have favored a more LAX approach, but I am not him."

The next day after Fuu and Yamato's successful capture exercise, it's Naruto and Sai's turn. Naruto and Sai blur through the air, landing inside of Yamato's guard, and start exchanging blows of taijutsu.

As Yamato easily dodges a kick by Sai, he taunts, "Is that all you got?!"

Only to be surprised by Naruto appearing behind Sai with his Kubikiribocho drawn with the spine facing him, he slices through Sai and slams it into Yamato's ribs at frightening speed. As Sai bursts into smoke, revealing him to be Naruto's shadow clone transformed into him, Yamato is sent flying backwards with fractured ribs, falling to the ground.

Before he can hit the ground, Naruto is on top of him, with his left forearm pressing down on the blade's spine as he places the half circle part at Yamato's neck, and his right hand pressed down on Yamato's torso. Naruto pins him to the ground with the half circle part of his blade pressed to his throat, and rest of the blade cut into the ground.

As Sai is using his, "Cartoon Beast Mimicry!", to creat an ink snake that charges Naruto and Yamato, Naruto yells out, "Gotcha! And I'm not letting go!"

Sai's ink snake proceeds to go under the downed Yamato, wrapping around both him and Naruto, getting Naruto to yell, "H-Hey, why me too?!", pinning Naruto's torso to a wooden dummy of Yamato with "Loser" written on it's headgear, a large X for eyes and a smile with a large tongue hanging out, carved on it's face.

Naruto yells out while pinned on top of a wooden dummy, "HEY, GET THIS OFF OF ME!"

Sai ignores him while picking up Yamato's position and leaps away to capture him. Naruto just reseals his blade and Hirashins away, appearing in front of Yamato in an orange flash! Yamato jumps back as Naruto gets his bearings, thinking that Naruto must have placed a Hirashin mark on him in their mid-air collision before he replaced himself with his dummy.

As Yamato lands, Naruto performs, "Earth Style: Dark Swamp", trapping Yamato's legs. With Yamato sinking deeper into the swamp with every passing second, he makes a hand-sign to create a wooden walkway across the swamp, stretching in front of him and out of the swamp, so he can pull himself out with his arms and escape.

By the time he pulls himself out, he is hammered by Naruto's "Earth Dragon Bomb", knocking him back into the swamp. Before Yamato can respond, Naruto has landed on his wooden walkway and grabs him with his, "Raging Lion Mane", wrapping him up with his arms held apart to prevent the use of jutsu. Then bringing Yamato towards him, Naruto places the same type of seal he placed on Sai back in Konoha, on Yamato, sealing off his chakra.

As Sai, Sakura, and Fuu arrive on the scene, Yamato praises, "Nice catch, Naruto, we'll end the simulations here."

Naruto replies a little irritably, "Yay, but it looks like I'm going to have to wash the mud out of my hair now."

Fuu yells out happily, "Good job Naruto-kun! I knew you could do it!"

Getting Naruto to rub the back of his head as he replies, "Thanks Fuu. I just wish I didn't have to cake my hair in mud to do it."

Sakura scolds, "Naruto! What is a little mud to successfully capturing your target!?"

Naruto responds, "Well, seeing as it's no big deal, I'll just throw some in your hair! Sakura!"

Sakura's eyes turn white with rage as she yells in response, "If you even try, I'll kill you!"

After releasing Yamato and removing the chakra suppression seal, Naruto proceeds to wash out his hair in a nearby stream after getting punched in the face for flinging a little mud in Sakura's direction. She was also angry at having to heal Yamato's ribs because Naruto didn't properly hold back in their exercise, like he was told to do.

Naruto then walks over to grab Sai by his jacket with clinched teeth, causing Sai to ask, "You have a problem?"

Naruto asks heatedly, "You know what the word COMRADE means?"

Sai just rummages through his weapons pouch to pull out a scroll and write the kanji for "comrade" on it.

Showing it to Naruto, Sai answers, "As a matter of fact, I do."

Naruto's face scrunches up in anger as his teeth grind loudly, causing a worried Sakura to say, "N-Naruto, wait.", afraid that he's going to attack Sai.

Sai comments, "Seriously, don't go blaming others for your own short comings. If you hadn't fallen for the Captain's obvious bait, he wouldn't have known that I was hiding elsewhere. By cutting through your transformed clone in haste, you revealed my absence, allowing Captain Yamato to realize that I was in waiting to capture him. It's impractical to fight while covering for someone else, not to mention dangerous. I simply considered what would best ensure mission success and acted accordingly."

Naruto's rage continued to build throughout Sai's crap, only stopping from exploding at Sai by Fuu replying, "Yeah, but it was Naruto that succeeded in capturing Captain Yamato! You didn't do much of anything, but leave a comrade tied up by your own jutsu! If our target has help, then in that scenario, you would be allowing our enemies to capture Naruto!"

Sakura comments, "Fuu has a point. Even if we succeeded in capturing our target, we'd be forced to either let Naruto die or release the target."

Sai simply replies, "The only thing that matters is the mission. If he's incompetent enough to be captured, then he should be left to die so that the mission can succeed."

Yamato cuts in, stopping Sakura and Fuu from attacking Sai, "You're wrong Sai. Even if we were to overlook the fact that Konoha-nin don't abandon our comrades, you have to realize that as a jinchuuriki, Naruto's value to the village exceeds the value of this missions success. So by sacrificing Naruto, you'd be weakening our village's military strength significantly, leading to harsh punishment, or even treason charges being brought up on you."

Sai replies, "Understood. I'll be sure to add in Naruto's jinchuuriki status into my calculations."

Naruto proceeds to flick Sai on the chest before turning around and saying, "I, will NEVER accept you as a comrade, or a member of this team!"

Yamato puts his right hand to his head and sighs in frustration, "This is so not going to work."

Sai adds, "I wonder what Sasuke would have done in this scenario? Would he have fought while covering you? Somehow I doubt it."

Naruto turns his head back to look at Sai while Fuu just glares daggers at him, and Sakura wonders why Sai would keep pushing Naruto.

Sai asks, "He betrayed our village and tried to KILL you, and you still consider him a comrade?"

Naruto turns to his side and replies with determination, "Yes, and I would still do ANYTHING to save him. Even team up with you", turning back around and walking away.

Sai replies, "This obsession with Sasuke, it's absurd."

Fuu chases after Naruto, turning her head to stick out her tongue at Sai and say, "Asshole!", reaching Naruto and taking his left hand into her hands, trying to calm him down.

Sakura explains, "Naruto, thinks of Sasuke as a brother. You have an older brother, so you must know what that's like."

Sai answers with his usual fake smile, "No. Remember our conversation about the picture titles? I don't HAVE feelings."

Confused and worried, Sakura asks, "What do you mean you don't have feelings? He's your BROTHER. Surely you must feel SOMETHING."

Sai simply replies, "I mean exactly what I said."

Sakura looks at Fuu comforting Naruto as he grits his teeth in anger, than remembering both Sasuke and Naruto from three years ago, standing side by side as she watched their backs.

Anger filling her eyes as she adds, "But even so, you have a brother, so you must be able to imagine, even a little, what it would feel like to lose him."

Sai explains, "Hmm? Ah, well, you see, my brother is dead.", that same fake smile still on his face.

Yamato gives him a knowing look while Sakura looks concerned while saying, "Even more of a reason to feel something, then-"

Cutting her off, Sai asks, "And what face would I make to show that I did? One like THAT?"

Confused at what Sai meant, Sakura looks at Naruto's solemn face while he picks up his backpack, trying to answer Sai, "Sai, I don't.", unable to say anything.

Sai continues, "Well. When my brother died, I didn't know what kind of expression I was suppose to be making.", getting Sakura to even think that he is a jerk.

Snapping them both out of their thoughts, Yamato orders, "Enough chit-chat. We're falling behind schedule, so everyone grab your packs."

Getting Sai to turn away from the scene of Fuu holding Naruto in her arms, stopping Sai, Sakura warns, "Lucky you, Sai. Truth be told, I was just about to clobber you again. I warned you if you keep badmouthing Sasuke, I wouldn't hold back. The only reason I didn't knock you into tomorrow was because of what Naruto said. That in order to rescue Sasuke, he'd team up with even you. For once, he's being more forgiving than I am, but if you can help us get our teammate back, I can't afford to hurt you."

Sai responds, "Sakura, you and Naruto, how do I say this, you're being considerate of his feeling? Am I right? I really don't understand how such feelings come about, though there was something about it in this book-"

Interrupting Sai, Naruto says, "Can we just GO already? If we're not in place before noon tomorrow, this mission is over before it even starts."

With that, they all pack up and leave, camping out one more time before arriving at Tenchi Bridge before noon the next day. Being in place, hidden behind rocks near the entrance of the bridge, Naruto, Sakura, Fuu, and Sai watch, the disguised as Sasori, Yamato approach a cloaked figure in the middle of the bridge.

The cloaked figure says while removing his hood, "Sasori, how the time flies.", revealing Yakushi Kabuto.

Yakushi Kabuto has onyx eyes, ash-grey hair kept in a ponytail, and black rimmed circular glasses. He's wearing under the white cloak a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waist band.

Even though Yamato is surprised, he responds calmly as Sasori, "No tail?"

Kabuto answers, "None, I assure you."

Yamato/Sasori asks, "How do you feel?"

Kabuto answers, "There remains some disorientation from when your jutsu dissolved and I started remembering who I really was, but it'll pass"

Naruto back in his hidden location comments, "Him again!"

Sakura adds, "I can't believe the Akatsuki spy is Kabuto!"

Fuu asks, "Who's he?"

Naruto answers, "He's one of Orochimaru's men that spied on our village during the Chunin Exams three years ago."

Back on the bridge, Yamato/Sasori says, "I have many questions."

A scared Kabuto replies, "There isn't much time, so please be quick. I've risked my life just coming here."

Yamato/Sasori asks, "Uchiha Sasuke, where is he?"

Kabuto answers, "There are several hideouts, but these change from week to week so his location cannot be pinpointed. Some are in lands outside Oto that Orochimaru's spies have infiltrated and maintained for us. But there is no set transfer plan or pattern, we're currently lying low at a safe-house on a small island in the Northern Lake, but we'll be moving in three days' time. Uchiha Sasuke is also there right now."

Back with Naruto's group, Naruto complains, "Damn! The wind's so strong, I can't hear a thing!"

Sakura scolds him, "Idiot! The wind is exactly what's keeping Kabuto from hearing us too! And being upwind blows our scent in the opposite direction, so he won't detect our approach."

Yamato/Sasori notice something behind Kabuto, causing Kabuto to quickly turn around in a ready stance, only to see a rabbit pop up then disappear in the bushes.

Kabuto breaths out in relief, "Just a rabbit."

Unseen to them is Orochimaru hidden behind a tree with a snake slithering around him, the same rabbit from before twitching in the snake's mouth. After the snake finishes swallowing the rabbit, Orochimaru moves forward to get a better few of the meeting on the bridge.

Orochimaru has a very snake-like appearance with his very pale skin, golden eyes with slitted pupils, purple markings around his eyes and fang like teeth. He has pronounced cheekbones and straight waist-length black hair with some locks covering and framing his face and shoulders. He's wearing a plain grey garb with a black polo shirt and pants underneath, a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back, blue tomoe-shaped earrings, and shinobi sandals with bandages around his calves.

Back on the bridge, Kabuto continues, "So, regarding the matter you asked me to look into. Even after Orochimaru transfers bodies, he puts a protective jutsu on the cell specimens from the old host body, so I have not been able to analyze them."

Yamato/Sasori replies, "I see.", while Yamato thinks about how he wanted to ask more questions, but the longer they keep talking, the greater the chance he slips up.

Over with Naruto's group, Naruto asks in frustration, "What's Captain Yamato waiting for? He should just grab him already!"

Sakura replies, "And risk the mission if he fails? This is Kabuto we're talking about. Better safe than sorry."

Sai comments, "Maybe, but Captain Yamato doesn't want Kabuto to become suspicious either. If he does, this mission's already failed."

Fuu responds, "Then he should just grab Kabuto now while he still has the element of surprise on his side!"

Back on the bridge, Kabuto says, "Look, this is taking too long. If Orochimaru discovers I met with you, death will be the least of my worries. You know what I want, now give it to me."

Yamato/Sasori replies, "Very well.", while Yamato realizes this is it, he has to move now, whips out a kunai, surprising and confusing Kabuto.

At that very instant, Orochimaru appears behind Kabuto as his snake starts to wrap around him, while saying in a chilling voice, "Interesting conversation. Mind if I join you?"

Yamato is shocked that Kabuto's been followed, jumping back as Orochimaru's snake quickly coils around Kabuto, only to get an empty cloak as Kabuto jumps over by Yamato/Sasori. Naruto's entire group is surprised to see Orochimaru, but Sai is just calm while thinking about his true mission.

Kabuto says, "If you hadn't pulled out your kunai, Sasori, I wouldn't have gotten away in time.", Yamato thinking that he got away with it, but not sure what to do now.

Orochimaru speaks up, "Your garb brings back memories, Sasori."

Yamato/Sasori asks, "Did you follow Kabuto?"

Orochimaru answers playfully, "Aww, come now, I just wanted to thank you for sending me this one, he's been so handy. Every time I develop a new jutsu I need at least one hundred human bodies to experiment on. Thanks to Kabuto's medical ninjutsu skills, I get to use them over and over again. There's such a shortage of volunteers, you know."

Over with Naruto's group, Naruto asks in a panicked voice, "What do we do?!"

Sakura answers, "Nothing. We sit tight until Captain Yamato gives us the signal."

Back on the bridge, Yamato is wondering what to do. He can't take on Orochimaru on his own, and if he calls in the others, he'll just put them in harms way. He can't have Kabuto help, he'd recognize that he doesn't fight in Sasori's style, revealing that he's not him. His only options seem to be to fight them both simultaneously or retreat. Before he can make up his mind, Kabuto makes a chakra scalpel with his hand and quickly turns on him! Slashing open the Sasori shell and cutting open Yamato's upper arm, causing Yamato to jump away thinking that Kabuto knew he was a fake.

Orochimaru unleashes a ,"Multiple Striking Shadow Snake", jutsu to have multiple snakes come out of his right sleeve to ensnare Yamato in mid-air, biting down on him. Just as their teeth sink in he's replaced with a wooden dummy, getting Kabuto to grunt in disappointment as Yamato lands safely on the bridge holding his cut arm.

Orochimaru states while the snakes drop the wooden dummy and go back into his sleeve, "A wood-style substitution, you're not-"

Kabuto interrupts, "Lord Orochimaru, are you saying this isn't-"

Orochimaru continues, "Sasori? No, Kabuto, it's definitely not. All this time as his subordinate, and you've yet to see the man's face?"

Kabuto explains, "He always hides behind those weird puppets of his. Such a dreary fellow."

Yamato says in confusion, "I- I don't understand! Kabuto, you're suppose to be an Akatsuki spy under Sasori's sleeper jutsu."

Kabuto smugly replies, "I'm afraid your intelligence is out of date. Lord Orochimaru removed that problem a long time ago."

Yamato makes the hypothesis, "So you were just pretending to be under Sasori's spell while secretly under Orochimaru's jutsu."

Kabuto corrects, "Wrong again, I'm afraid. Lord Orochimaru and I share a common philosophy. I'm with him of my own free will. The question is, who are you? You ruined our plans for Sasori."

Orochimaru calmly says, "Patience, Kabuto. All will be revealed in due time. Starting with those four baby rabbits hiding behind Daddy rabbit.", implying that they are all just prey to him, the vicious snake feeding on the helpless rabbits caught in his jaws.

Realizing that Orochimaru knew all along, Yamato signals Naruto's group to emerge on the bridge in front of him. Naruto in the center with Fuu on his left and Sai on his right, while Sakura lands next to Yamato and starts healing his arm.

Kabuto say in a humor filled tone, "Ah, you again, Naruto."

Orochimaru adds in amusement, "Well, now, isn't this a pleasant reunion, and I see you've brought the Nine Tails child. Excellent. I've bee waiting for such an opportunity to see which is stronger now, Naruto or Sasuke."

Naruto yells out in rage, "Give Sasuke back!", dense chakra starting to form around his right hand and his feet.

Kabuto mocks, "Give Sasuke back? You're getting off track. Sasuke came to us of his own accord, because he wanted to. Why can't you just accept the truth?"

Sakura yells out in response, "Shut up, four eyes! You don't understand how people feel. Just tell us where Sasuke is!"

Orochimaru taunts, "If you want to know about Sasuke, you'll have to force me to tell you, if you can, that is!"

Naruto shoots forward, ripping up the wood planks of the bridge and kicking up dust, surprising everyone as he disappears. Reappearing in Orochimaru's face, his glowing right hand held in a palm strike pose, slamming it right into the left side of Orochimaru's face! Sending him flying through the bridges railing and across the ravine, smashing through several yards of trees with a rage filled scream.

Kabuto raises his arm to keep debris from hitting his face, surprised by Naruto's increase in speed and power. Sakura is stunned at Naruto's punch, it's as powerful as hers, possibly stronger. Sai wonders how much Naruto's been holding back all this time while Fuu is focused on establishing their link and keeping her eye's on Kabuto. Yamato is carefully analyzing Naruto, watching for any signs of the Nine Tails influence, but found none.

Kabuto smirks while saying, "Naruto, you've matured quite a bit since I last saw you. Is your increase in strength from the Nine Tails influence?"

Orochimaru steps out of the forest at the other end of the bridge and answers, "No, I didn't sense any of the Foxes power from his attack." His face having been peeled back to reveal another one underneath, surprising most of Team Kakashi.

Orochimaru continues to approach Naruto while explaining, "That was a neat trick you pulled with your wind chakra, such a rare chakra nature. You focused dense amounts of wind chakra to the bottom of your feet to give yourself a momentary and exceptional increase in speed, while also encasing your right hand in equally dense wind chakra. Then slamming that chakra into my face while simultaneously firing a variation of the "Gale Palm" at pointblank range. To most, it'd just look like an extremely powerful palm thrust, but it's actually a well hidden, close range, wind jutsu.", finishing his reapplying of his face.

Kabuto responds, "That's an incredible feat for someone with so little talent, such as Naruto."

Orochimaru adds, "Maybe, but the most incredible part of it all, is that even with the strain and focus needed to do it, plus his obvious rage, he doesn't show a single sign of influence by the Nine Tails. It must be that HE is his watchdog, eh? Seems some of my experiments came in handy after all. Konoha really ought to be more grateful to me, don't you think? My cute little experiment.", indicating Yamato.

Looking back at Yamato, Kabuto asks, "Experiment? What do you mean?"

Orochimaru chuckles before answering, "There was a time I sought the power of the shinobi who was not only the ultimate wood style ninjutsu master, but also the one person who had total control over Bijuu. Namely, the First Hokage, so I extracted his DNA and inserted it into the cells of sixty children. Unfortunately, their inferior bodies rejected the superior genetic material. They died in rapid succession, one after another. I thought they had all perished, I can't believe there was a survivor."

Sakura thinks about how that's why he can use the First Hokage's jutsu.

Kabuto responds, "I see, with the First Hokage's abilities that he got from his cells, he can suppress the Nine Tails chakra. Perhaps we should obtain a sample of his DNA, or better yet, his entire corpse."

Orochimaru replies, "Yessss, that'd be ideal and while we're at it, we can pit Sasuke against Naruto and see which one is strongest."

Naruto explodes in anger as his chakra flares, roaring out, "You don't own Sasuke. DON'T TALK ABOUT SASUKE LIKE YOU OWN HIM! ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF ME!", forming a hand-sign to increase his focus on pouring massive amounts of wind chakra from his body. Eventually causing a maelstrom of wind to whip around his body in preparation for a large jutsu, one of his secret and most powerful jutsu.

Everyone there is being pushed back from the powerful air streams Naruto is creating. Yamato is surprised that Naruto has that much chakra to throw around, but worries if he can control the jutsu he's about to release.

Sakura is wondering how Naruto could have hidden so much power while Fuu is lifted into air form the pressure, having to use her wings to keep from being totally blown away. Sai is comparing the air pressure to that of a thousand tiny bees stinging him. Kabuto just grins maliciously, as if Naruto's chakra doesn't faze him.

With a grunt of exertion, Naruto condenses the maelstrom of wind chakra around him, causing the wood planks to disintegrate and the concrete underneath him to crater, as the railings bend and break apart. Kabuto creates his chakra scalpel and charges Naruto, hoping to stop him before he can finish his jutsu. Unfortunately for him, Naruto sees him coming and blurs through his hand-signs, "Wind Style: Whirling Gale Sphere Explosion!", causing the condensed air around him to explode outward, forming a whirling sphere of gale force wind. The explosion hits Kabuto by surprise and breaks the bridge in two, sending debris, and more importantly, Kabuto flying back and smacking through Sakura, banging her head and knocking her unconscious, as he smashes into a tree at the end of the bridge.

The bridge begins to wobble before crumbling into pieces, with the unconscious Sakura on a piece that's falling away. Yamato quickly uses his wood style to create large wooden pillars to form underneath the crumbling bridge to hold it together. Sakura continues to slide down the broken piece of bridge, alerting Yamato to the fact that she is unconscious.

Sai thinks that he can finally begin his real mission as he pulls out a scroll and draws a large ink bird. Using his beast mimicry to bring it to life, he then proceeds to jump on it's back to fly away.

Seeing this, Yamato yells out, "Sai! Hurry and catch Sakura!"

As Sakura's body falls down the ravine, Sai just flies past her and into the air, causing Yamato to yell out in worry, "Sakura!"

Fortunately, Fuu has arrived in time to see this happen, having been blown away by Naruto's jutsu, and dives down to quickly catch her.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru is jumping back from the bridge as Naruto appears in front of him, blurring through hand-signs, "Wind Style: Wind Dragon", sending a massive spiraling dragon of wind crashing into Orochimaru, where he is sent careening through the forest, only stopping when the wind dragon explodes!

Seeing the explosion, Sai flies in that direction to carry out his secret mission given to him by Danzo.

Orochimaru is thrown out of the debris field, landing on a nearby tree branch. His body is covered in cuts and his entire left arm is gone. Hands appear out of his mouth pushing them open, shedding out his wreaked body, like a snake sheds it's skin, to reveal a fully healed Orochimaru.

Orochimaru taunts, "Is that the best you can do? Little Fox, you're not even in the same league as Sasuke."

Naruto responds, "Not even close you filthy snake!", pulling out a scroll from his right holster and unsealing a large number of Hirashin marked tri-kunai, spreading them all around the area.

Back at the bridge, Fuu has safely placed Sakura on the unbroken part of the bridge by Yamato, where he proceeds to look her over.

Fuu asks, "Will she be okay Captain Yamato?"

Yamato answers, "I'm not sure, but it doesn't look that bad. We'll know for sure when she wakes up. Come on, girl, wake up.", Yamato starts gently shaking her, trying to get her conscious.

Fuu says in an angry tone, "What the hell was Sai doing? He just left Sakura to die! And what's he doing now?! Ah! This doesn't make sense!"

Yamato tries to calm down Fuu by saying, "I'm not sure, but for now, we assume he's continuing the mission by aiding Naruto in his fight with Orochimaru, so cool it."

Fuu crosses her arms and bits her lip before replying, "Fine, but I'm still mad at him!"

Sakura starts groaning as she regains consciousness and starts to sit up, only to stop and grab the back of her head in pain as she groans out, "Ahh, my head."

Yamato asks in a concerned voice, "Sakura, are you okay?"

Sakura replies, "No sir, but I will be in a-", being interrupted by Fuu crushing her in a hug, causing Sakura to yelp in pain.

Fuu pulls back with tears in her eyes and apologizes, "Sorry Sakura! I was j-just so happy that you are okay, that I couldn't stop myself."

Sakura waves it off as Yamato gets concerned for Naruto and decides to send him some help by creating a wood clone that grows from his body. Said wood clone proceeds to run off the bridge and creates a wood pillar to carry it over to the other side.

Getting a look at the destroyed bridge, Sakura asks, "Naruto, did, did he do all this?"

Fuu replies energetically, "Yeah! That jutsu was awesome! It totally wreaked the place in an instant, while kicking Kabuto's lame ass!"

Sakura asks with concern, "Where's Naruto now?"

Yamato answers, "On the other side of this bridge, most likely fighting Orochimaru."

Said lame ass Kabuto, has just finished healing himself and says to himself, "I wasn't expecting him to have such a powerful defensive jutsu, Naruto was more of the offensive kind of fighter. Then again, that jutsu can also be used offensively, if utilized the right way."

Back with Naruto and Orochimaru, Orochimaru unleashes a small army of snakes from his mouth, sending a wave of them at Naruto. Naruto counters with, "Spiked Jizo", his hair growing to cover his entire body and forming hardened spikes.

Orochimaru mocks, "That's it? You just turtle up with one of Jiraiya's signature moves! Your pathetic!"

Just as the wave of snakes crash down on him, Naruto channels wind chakra into the spikes, then by channeling wind chakra beneath his feet, he starts to rapidly spin. Soon all of Orochimaru's snakes are shredded into pieces by Naruto's, "Wind Style: Spinning Spiked Jizo!".

Coming to a stop after ending his jutsu, Naruto mutter, "Oh man, that jutsu always make me dizzy."

Orochimaru takes advantage of that by quickly sliding across the ground like a snake, landing a punch to Naruto's face, only for him to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Earth Style: Rising Stone Pillars!", sharpened stone pillars skewers Orochimaru's body, forcing him to shed his skin again to avoid death.

Orochimaru stands in time for an orange flash to appear behind, sensing the attack, he jumps back to avoid being split in two by Naruto's kubikiribocho, but fails to avoid the wind slash that follows it. As Orochimaru's body splits in two, snakes pour out of both halves and pull them back together with his top half facing the wrong way. Which he quickly corrects by simply twisting his top have around with a loud crack.

Naruto yells in frustration, "Damn it! What the hell?! Are you made of snakes?!"

Over with the rest of Team Kakashi, Sakura asks no one in particular, "Why was Naruto hiding so much of his power? Does he not trust me?"

Yamato answers, "If I had to guess, I'd say that he wasn't really hiding it. He just hasn't had the opportunity to use it."

Sakura comment, "But we've been in fights with Kakashi-sensei and more seriously, the Akatsuki! Yet he didn't use any jutsu that powerful during those fights!"

Fuu say, "Yeah, but seeing how just being near that jutsu sent me flying and knocked you unconscious, I can understand why Naruto didn't"

Yamato adds, "In the fights and exercises you've been in with him, you were too close and he didn't want to get you caught up in one of his deadlier jutsu, or he wasn't aiming to kill his opponent. Then you also have to take in to account that jutsu must drain a significant amount of his chakra reserves, plus they take time to setup, so doesn't want to use them unless he has to."

Sakura concedes, "Your right, I'm just shocked to see how much stronger he really is."

Fuu asks in confusion, "Why? Naruto has always seemed strong to me, and not just in body and the jutsu he can use, but in the strength of his heart."

Sakura smile as she replies, "I guess your right, he's always been strong. Anyway, shouldn't we head over to help him too. He's fighting Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, he'll need help no matter how strong he is."

Kabuto interrupts, getting their attention, "Well, now, guess the real Sasori won't be showing up anytime soon. The fact that he revealed my existence as an Akatsuki spy and location of this bridge for our meetings, make me think he was hoping you would take down Lord Orochimaru for him. The Akatsuki is still reeling from Lord Orochimaru's defection, you know. So for him to divulge such sensitive intelligence, means Sasori sees your power. One, he's using you to do his dirty work while planning to stab you in the back after the deed is done. Two, he's been incapacitated and needs you to fulfill this task on his behalf. Or three, he's dead and this is merely some desperate gambit on your part to remove a superior player from the game."

Sakura answers, "Unfortunately, it's the latter."

Kabuto smiles before replying, "That's good to hear."

Back with Naruto's fight with Orochimaru, Naruto has been combining the Hirashin with his shadow clones to bombard Orochimaru with an endless supply of wind slashes from all directions. He's already cut Orochimaru in half three times, only for him to shed his fucking skin and be back to normal like nothing happened. At least that's what he wants Naruto to think, but Naruto has noticed that Orochimaru is becoming exponentially more exhausted with every shedding. So Naruto decides to capitalize on this by resealing his blade and making his go to cross hand-sign.

Naruto floods the field with a hundred shadow clones that are now holding rasengans in both hands. Then in a flash of orange, they all instantly appear at the nearest Hirashin mark by Orochimaru, completely surrounding him, moving in while ignoring the vertigo, there's no opening to escape from as Naruto rains down his, "Everywhere Rasengan Barrage!".

Orochimaru is only able to protect himself by having a large snake coil around him as a shield, one that is quickly torn through by the barrage of rasengan. As Naruto's rasengans collide into each other, causing a chain reaction that explodes into a massive ball of chakra, completely consuming Orochimaru and all of Naruto's clones.

Watching as the chakra explosion goes off, Naruto is hoping that it's enough to finish off Orochimaru, his own chakra supply is running low. The jutsu he used to destroy the bridge took up nearly half of his chakra and he ended up wasting it on Kabuto. Seeing the smoke clear from his explosion, Naruto sees just Orochimaru's legs sticking up outside the ground, charred and burned with chunks of flesh missing. Before he can contemplate what it means, Orochimaru's head appears out of the ground from behind him, fangs drawn as he sinks his teeth into the right side of Naruto's neck, injecting the enzyme for the curse mark into Naruto's bloodstream.

Unsealing his blade and swinging around, Naruto forces Orochimaru to let go of his neck, but it's too late. Naruto catches himself by stabbing his blade into ground as pain starts to wreak his body, screaming out pure agony as black lines filled with Orochimaru's chakra spread all over his body. The malicious purple chakra starts to swirl around him as his right eye turns black with slitted red pupils, the curse mark is fusing with his doubled seal, causing it to warp and bend.

The Nine Tails chakra starts flooding out as his seals start to fail, overpowering and destroying the enzyme Orochimaru injected into him, wiping out the curse marks inferior power. Now Naruto's body is bubbling with the red chakra cloak of the Nine Tails, while Naruto swears that he hears darkly chucking as his seal gives way. Trying desperately to restrain the Fox's chakra, Naruto nearly misses Orochimaru's Kusanagi blade headed right for him, coming out of Orochimaru's mouth with his head standing tall from his elongated neck. Naruto is only barely able to block by tilting his kubikiribocho in front of it, smashing into him and plowing him through the forest straight across the ravine, stopping on the other side of the bridge near the rest of his team and Kabuto.

Surprised by the sudden explosion of earth and dust, everyone there looks to see Naruto shrouded in the three tails cloak, holding his blade so that it's blocking Orochimaru's blade from piercing him, slightly cracking the kubikiribocho.

Kabuto comments, "So that's the power of a jinchuuriki, eh? He should have used that in the first place if he wanted to fight with any hope of matching Lord Orochimaru. This is not so much a battle between shinobi, as a battle between monsters, heh heh heh."

Causing Sakura to clench her fist to her heart, worry for Naruto beginning to weigh on her.

Yamato is more focused on how Naruto's seal must be failing, saying in concern, "What happened? What was it that Orochimaru did to him- Oh NO! Don't t-tell he tried to place his curse mark on Naruto?!", having received the memories from his wood clone's link that has been watching their fight.

Orochimaru is thinking about how Naruto's blade must be the real Kubikiribocho to have stopped his Kusanagi from piercing him. Also he finds it intriguing at how his curse mark was somehow able to damage the Nine Tail's seal, and that the Fox's chakra was able to completely wipe out his own to the degree that his curse mark was destroyed. His attention is than returned to Naruto as he bats away his blade with his own, sending it crashing into the side of the bridge, making Yamato grab Sakura to safety while Kabuto just ducks and Fuu flies away. Orochimaru retracts his blade before shedding himself one last time, landing on the ground, barely able to move.

Orochimaru mutters out in exhaustion, "Seems I've reached my limit. Good thing my plan to infect Naruto with my curse mark, worked out even better than planed, but I wasn't expecting it to be destroyed.", he starts chuckling to himself as he thinks that even though his current body is rejecting him, it's not over yet for he still has Sasuke.

Sai, who's been watching the whole time while hidden in the nearby trees, wonders if now's his chance.

Naruto, on his side of the bridge, is now roaring as half his bodies skin is peeling off and turning black with a fourth tail starting to grow.

Kabuto comments, "Pathetic. He's losing control of the Nine Tails chakra and is becoming a monster. What a pitiful child."

Bringing tears to Sakura's eyes as she grits her teeth and charges Naruto in the hopes of saving him, ignoring Yamato's warning, crying out, "Naruto! Please, stop! I'll help you! Just please don't lose yourself to the fox and-"

Naruto yells at her desperately, "NO SAKURA! DON'T GET NEAR ME! I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!", one of his tails whipping out and striking Sakura.

As Sakura hits the ground with her upper left arm cut open, Yamato has wooden pillars wrap around Naruto to restrain his movements, beating himself up for not making it in time.

Fuu dives down, headed for Sakura, but stops when Naruto yell out, "No! Fuu! Stay away! I-I don't want to hurt anyone else! Please!", tears falling from his left eye that hasn't transformed yet.

Fuu replies, "But Sakura's hurt! And what about you?! I can't just leave you guys like that! We're a team!"

Yamato responds, "Leave it to me! Remember what Orochimaru said about me, I can suppress Bijuu's chakra! Besides, we can't risk that the Nine Tails chakra could cause the Seven Tails chakra inside you to go out of control too."

Before Fuu can reply, Yamato sees Kabuto moving towards Sakura and Naruto, so he stops him with his wood release by grabbing Kabuto's out stretched left hand and leg, while saying, "I won't let you hurt them."

Kabuto responds in a serious tone, "You misunderstand, I no longer have any intention of hurting any of you. In fact, it's quite the opposite"

Yamato asks, "What do you mean?"

Kabuto answers while sending his chakra out to Sakura's injured arm and heals it, "We share a common enemy. The Akatsuki are a nuisance to us as well. If we let you live, I'm hoping you can get rid of at least one other Akatsuki member for us, perhaps."

Sakura regains consciousness as Kabuto finishes healing her and Naruto starts roaring in pain as more of his skin is peeled away, and the wooden restraints begin to break.

Kabuto continues, "Then again, he's one of yours. Seem appropriate you should clean up after him.", with that he leaves in puff of smoke, worried that Orochimaru is at his limit.

With Kabuto gone, Yamato uses this chance to blur through hand-signs and raise his right hand up with his palm open and kanji appearing on it as he yells, "Hokage Style: Elder Jutsu! Kakuan's Tenth Edict On Enlightenment!", jumping forward to place his open palm on Naruto's chest, connecting his chakra to the First Hokage's necklace that Naruto's wearing. Pulling a line of chakra with him as he jumps back by Sakura's side and raises ten spiked wooden pillars around Naruto.

Yamato tries to force back the Nine Tails chakra, but finds that he can't! The only thing he can do is halt it's progression as Naruto screams in pain, afraid that with the added effect of the curse mark, it caused Naruto's seal to destabilize completely, and he doesn't have the power of the First Hokage to suppress the full power of a Bijuu.

Unknown to everyone else, Naruto is inside his mindscape, standing front of the Nine Tails cage. Feeling the burning pain in his stomach, Naruto looks up at the seal on the cage, only to see the paper seal burned off and his tetragram seal he placed on top of it in pieces, revealing the spiral lock underneath on the verge of cracking into pieces as well.

The Nine Tails laughs out darkly, "It's too late Naruto! By trying to lock me out completely, you've seal your own doom! I should thank that little snake for helping me, even though it was unintentional. How could he have known that you over strained my seal and that his pathetic little curse mark filled with distorted nature chakra would push it past it's limits?!", the Fox proceeds to slam his full body into the gate, cracking the seal even more!

Seeing no other choice, Naruto lifts up his shirt and jacket, holding them in his teeth, then rolls up his right sleeve to reveal the seal's key. The tips of his fingers glow in chakra before he places them on the distorted seal on his stomach and twists it clockwise with a grunt, causing both the lock on the cage and his stomach to unravel, unlocking his seal before it breaks. He hopes that if he can restrain the Nine Tails long enough for the seal to recover, he can lock him back up. Not a really sound strategy, but he had no other option left to him, the Fox was about to break it anyways.

The Nine Tailed Fox swings it's right arm, slamming it into the cage just as it finishes unlocking, throwing the doors wide open and knocking Naruto back as it roars victoriously. Still exhausted from his fight with Orochimaru, Naruto hits the wet ground with a splash, slowly trying to get back up. Unfortunately, the Fox isn't allowing it, he pounces on Naruto, pinning him to ground with his left claw, causing Naruto to cough up blood from the impact.

The Nine Tail gloats, "It's over Naruto! You never stood a chance against me! I'm free! Stop resisting and I might spare your friends!"

Naruto yells back, "Never! You overgrown furball!"

The Fox proceeds to flood Naruto's body with his hate filled chakra, crawling over his body and darkening his eyes as he hears hate filled screams, "Hate you! Hurts! Going to kill you! Help! Why?! If it just weren't for him! I'll get revenge! I'm sick and tired of it all! It's not going to work, anyway. Always him!"

The Fox taunts, "You'll never be able to control my power! You're just a tiny piece of my hatred!"

Naruto continues to hear, "That's him, BEGONE! You'll never have the respect you desire. GET OUT! GET LOST! LEAVE! AND DON'T COME BACK!"

Just as it all just seems too much and Naruto's about to give in to hatred, a loving and serene voice drowns them out, "No, you stay right here, Naruto.", finding himself surrounded by white and looking at a red-headed woman.

Said woman, is a beautiful woman in her early twenties with a slender figure and fair skin with dark violet eyes. She has dark red hair that reaches past her knees and wears a black hairclip where she keeps her hair up on the left side of her face. She wearing a high-collared, sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting green dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals.

Naruto's eyes water as he sees her, having looked at her picture for many hours over the two years he has know about her. He still has the photo of her and his father on his nightstand by his team photo. His mother, Uzumaki Kushina!

His lower lip starts quivering before he suddenly wraps her in a hug, his whole body shaking as she returns his while he cries out, "I've. I've, wanted to meet you for so long, Mom, Ya Know?", trears streaming down his eyes as the darkness fades from them.

She smiles as she chuckles lightly, "Ya know, eh, you really are my child."

Outside, Yamato feels the Nine Tails transformation stopping, and not anytime too soon, Naruto's about to grow his sixth tail!

Back with Naruto and his mother, Naruto happily exclaims, "There's so much I want to ask you, Mom!"

Kushina replies, "You may, ask away, but first we need to seal up the Nine Tails!"

Naruto asks, "Why seal the Fox back up? Why can't I just take control of his power now?! My bodies plenty strong enough to handle it! I'm really strong now and-"

Kushina stops him by saying firmly, "Naruto, you are definitely strong enough, but your hatred is still in control of your heart. It's taking a lot of effort to keep it at bay, until you master your own hatred, you can't take control of the Nine Tails chakra. The moment you tried to wrestle away it's power, it'd latch on to your own hatred and you'd just be overwhelmed by the Fox's hatred, allowing the Nine Tails to take you over."

Naruto yielded to his mother's sound argument, having heard similar from Captain Yamato, "Alright mom. What do you need me to do?!"

Kushina explains, "I'll get him off you and try pulling him back inside the cage, then I want you to hit him with your strongest jutsu as he's off balance. Luckily, I sense someone else's chakra trying to rein in the Nine Tails chakra, that'll make our task easier."

Naruto thinks for a second before replying, "Oh! That must be Captain Yamato! I heard Orochimaru go on about how he's some kind of experiment that has the First Hokages DNA, giving him wood release abilities."

Kushina is surprised by that, but quickly shakes it off and replies, "Oh, that's definitely helpful. Now get ready! Here we go! Ya know!"

Back with the Fox, Kushina's chakra chains shoot out of the ground, wrapping around the Fox's limbs, tails, torso, and neck, yanking him off of Naruto and dragging him towards the cage he just escaped!

Surprised by the sudden turn a round, the Nine Tails starts digging his claws into the ground, the Fox then notices the chains, yelling out in rage, "This chakra!? These chains! KUSHINA!"

Naruto stands up a little wobbly, but straightens up and makes a hand-sign, channeling all the chakra he has left into wind chakra. As the fox struggles to break a few of the chains, Naruto has whipped up a maelstrom around him and starts condensing it in front of him, almost ready to unleash his ultimate hidden jutsu, that Kabuto ruined earlier.

The Fox has now righted himself, on all fours he is now digging trenches as his progression back to his cage slows. Several of his tails have broken free of Kushina's chains, and start slamming to the one holding his limbs and body, severing the ones wrapped around his neck and arms. Now he is starting to gain ground away from the cage.

The Nine Tails grunts out, "Nice try Kushina, but not good enough! I'm not going back in that fucking CELL!", snapping all but two chains before Naruto is ready to unleash his jutsu!

Naruto starts worrying as he still needs thirty more seconds before he's ready to attack, and the Fox just snapped another chain, leaving one left! There's not enough time! Just all hope seems lost, massive wooden pillars shoot out from behind the cage doors, wrapping around the Nine Tails! They proceed to pull back the Fox while draining him of his chakra.

Fox yells out in frustrated rage, "What is this?! Why do I sense the First Hokage's chakra?! How is that possible?! Damn it! Nooo!", grabbing on to the edges of the cage's door in an attempt to break free.

Tapping into all of his power and hatred, the Nine Tails starts struggling enough to crack and break a few of the wooden pillar, while pulling himself back out of the cage. Just as it seems like the Fox is going to break free again he's hit by, "Hidden Secret Jutsu! Wind Style: F5 Drilling Tornado Spear!".

Naruto launched a drill pointed, 2.6 mile wide tornado at the Nine Tailed Fox, shredding the wooden pillars to pieces at it drills into the Fox's entire body. Blood and minced flesh spews out of the Fox as it slams him back into his cage, the Fox roaring in pure agony the whole way! Once Naruto's jutsu ends, the gates slam shut and Naruto proceeds to use the key on his right arm to lock the seal with a counterclockwise twist. The locking mechanism still has a few cracks, but they are healing shut with a red-like glow from Kushina's chakra, having intimate knowledge on sealing jutsu and special chakra to repair the damage. Naruto just face-plants in the wet ground, completely spent and relieved to be safe again.

Back outside with Naruto's real body, Yamato finishes sealing up the Nine Tails chakra into the necklace around Naruto's neck. Naruto's skinless again as he hits the ground unconscious, getting Sakura to flip him over and start medical aid as Yamato sits on her right, quietly observing them.

Fuu lands down on Naruto's left, facing Sakura opposite her, asking hysterically, "Is Naruto going to make it?! Will he recover?! What happened?! WHY-"

Interrupting Fuu's meltdown, Yamato says while trying to calm her down, "Relax Fuu! He'll make it and should make a full recovery too. But please be quiet, so Sakura can focus on healing him, Ok?"

Fuu sniffles as she rubs the trears out of her eyes while choking out, "O-Okay, C-Captain Y-Yamato! I-I'll t-try, but n-no promises t-that I w-won't cry."

Sakura watches how slowly Naruto's skin is regenerating, wondering why it's taking so long when in the past, the Nine Tails chakra accelerated Naruto's healing abilities.

Yamato is wondering what happened with Naruto's seal, one moment it seemed like it completely failed, then the next it starts working as he figured it should. Then there was that unfamiliar chakra that helped him restrain the Nine Tails, who's was it and where did it come from?

Sakura grunts in pain as she put more effort into healing Naruto, the wound he gave her is still burning. Yamato looks at Sakura as she pushes herself to help Naruto to the point that his skin has grown back up to his chin.

Sakura finally asks, "Captain Yamato, that jutsu you just used to suppress the Nine Tails chakra, could you, please teach it to me?"

Fuu adds, "Me too! I want to help him too! Please!", leaning forward, hopeful tears in her eyes.

Yamato solemnly answers, "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible I-"

Fuu interrupts, "Why?! Is it because I'm a jinchuuriki, or that I'm not a medical shinobi?!"

Yamato continues, "No, it's not because of those reasons. I am the only one in Konoha who can use that jutsu, and only because I carry Lord First's DNA within me. Yet, all I am is an experiment, a pale copy of the original Lord First. Yes, I have power, but nowhere near enough to forcibly suppress the Nine Tails' chakra. That necklace around Naruto's neck used to belong to the First Hokage. It's a chakra crystal that responds to his chakra alone. It is said Lord First qualified to be Hokage partly because of this power. It is also why I was chosen to be your captain."

Sakura just thinks for moment as Fuu pouts, before saying, "It's always like this. The only things I can ever do for Naruto are these small things.", closing her eyes in shame and disappointment.

Fuu quickly corrects her by replying, "That's not true Sakura! You've always meant a lot to him, he's told me himself! Your presence in his life helped him get through a lot pain and grief he's faced! Just being here and helping anyway you can, is all that matters!"

Yamato smile as he adds, "Like Fuu said, it doesn't matter whether the things you do for him are large or small, what matters is how much you care about Naruto. I've seen it, Sakura, you care a lot about Naruto."

Naruto's skin just finished growing back as Yamato finished talking.

Fuu chimes in, "Yeah! That's why I want you to join our harem! You truly love Naruto like I do, so I don't get why you're so opposed to it!"

Sakura gets a tick mark in her forehead as Yamato blushes at Fuu's brashness, getting her to respond, "I've been over this with you, now give it rest already!"

Fuu just shrugs her shoulder while replying, "Fine, I won't bring it up again. It's your lost anyway, not mine."

Back inside Naruto's mindscape with his mother, they are sitting next to each other as Kushina explains, "Minato spelled my chakra into the sealing jutsu so I'd appear when you tried to gain control over the Nine Tails' power. So I could lend you a hand.", stopping to see Naruto just chuckling while looking at her, causing her to ask, "Are you listening to me?"

Naruto exclaims, "You're beautiful mom!"

Kushina smiles while chukling lightly herself, "Well, thank you! You have your father's hair, but I'm sorry you have my face, Naruto."

Naruto simply replies, "Why? I got my good looks from you, right? I just wished that I had gotten your straight red hair. It's awesome!", while placing his index finger and thumb on his chin as he imagined what he'd look like with her hair.

Kushina just laughs at that, only explaining once she sees Naruto's confused expression, "You're now the second man to praise my red hair."

Naruto asks, "Yah? Who was the first?"

Kushina answers, "Your father of course!"

That gets Naruto to ask, "Hey! Hey! I've always wanted to ask you one thing for sure! How did you meet Dad?"

Kushina gains a blush and a smile as she utters out, "I-It's, a bit embarrassing, Ya know?!"

Naruto points at her and happily says, "Hey, you said ya know like I do! You're talking fast again!"

Kushina responds, "Yup, when my thoughts get wound up when I talk fast, ya know!"

Naruto laughs out, "You said it again!"

Kushina explains how she meet Minato, "Back when I was in the academy, I had just moved from another shinobi village, so I didn't know a whole lot about Konoha. Your father and I were still little kids when we first met. My first impression of him, was that he seemed rather girly and undependable"

Naruto interrupts, "Oh, really?", finding it hard to believe that.

Kushina just continues, ignoring Naruto, "The very day I had moved, we had to share in class what we wanted to be when we grew up. I didn't want to be snubbed by everyone, so I said that I was going to be the First female Hokage."

Naruto responds, "That's my mom! You seem to be a lot like me!"

Kushina corrects, "It's the other way around, YOU"RE like ME!"

Naruto asks her to continue and she does, "It's pretty snotty to declare you're going to become Hokage after just moving from another village right? So-"

Naruto interrupts her again, asking, "Wait! Pervy Sage told me you were brought to Konoha to become the next Nine Tails' jinchuuriki! Was that a lie?"

Kushina is surprised that Jiraiya told him that, and asks, "What all did he tell you Naruto?"

Naruto tells his mother everything Jiraiya told him two years ago, getting her to say, "Yeah, that just about covers it, he even guessed right about the masked man attacking us when I was delivering you."

Naruto asks, "Then, was is true that even though you were a jinchuuriki, you were happy?"

Kushina just smiles as she answers, "Yup!" , bring a smile to Naruto's face.

Naruto then asks, "Was there anything else pervy sage left out?"

Kushina answers, "Yeah a few things, but lets get back to how I met your father. I'll circle back around to that later."

Naruto nods his head as Kushina continues her story, " Lets see, oh yeah, I started getting taunted by boys, and they nicknamed me Tomato!"

Naruto asks, "Tomato? Why?"

Kushina answers, "Because I was chubby, with a round face and red hair, I guess it was actually pretty accurate."

Naruto guesses, "I bet dad totally put a stop to that. Right?"

Kushina just smiles while holding up her clenched fist, with the veins popping out, as she says, "Nope! Guess again! Anybody who called me Tomato, well, I just turned them into smashed Tomatoes. That's how I got my other nickname, the Red-Hot Habanero!"

Naruto gulps while remembering how Kiba and Shikamaru said that mothers can be real scary, before asking, "So, what did dad want to be when he grew up?"

Kushina answers, "Minato said that he wanted to become a Hokage that everyone in whole village respects."

Naruto say nostalgically, "A Hokage, respected by everyone, huh."

Kushina continues, "When I first heard him say that, I mocked Minato, thinking he seemed so undependable that there was no way he'd ever become Hokage."

A shock Naruto replies, "What?! But dad seems so powerful!"

Kushina explains, "I know. Well, I was still young and didn't know anything back then, so I looked down on Minato. Until a certain incident. I used to hate my red hair, but since that incident, I liked it, thanks to Minato"

Naruto asks, "What incident? What happened?"

Kushina explains, "I have a slightly special chakra and was kidnapped by Kumogakure because of it. In order to leave behind a trail, while I was being led away, I snipped off and dropped strands of my hair. Carefully, so the enemy wouldn't notice. Konoha immediately put together search parties to look for me, but they had a hard time finding me. It was when we were almost to the border, and I had thought that I was done for,"

Naruto happily asks, "Was that when?!"

Kushina answers, "Yup, Minato was the one who rushed to my side and rescued me. He was the only one to notice the strands of my red hair. He told me he noticed them right away because my hair's so pretty. That day, I knew Minato really would be a great shinobi. I realized he could make all my dreams come true. And he changed me, my hated red hair had brought me my love, my hair became my red DESTINY. And since then, I've liked my hair, and most of all, I fell in love with Minato", bringing a large smile to Naruto's face.

Kushina responds, "There are certain words I only bestow on the men who compliment my hair, will you accept them, Naruto?"

While still smiling, Naruto answers, "Sure."

Kushina says, "I love you.", getting Naruto to blush and smile in joy.

Kushina then asks, "If you put the YELLOW Flash of Konoha together with the Red-Hot Habanero, what do you get?"

Naruto chuckles while looking down at his favorite color, before standing and holding out his jacket as he answers, "You get Konoha's ORANGE Hokage!"

After calming back down, Naruto asks for what Jiraiya left out about the Nine Tails incident. Kushina goes into intimate detail about what happened that day, from having give birth in secret, to being separated from Minato and having the Nine Tails extracted, ending with how Minato chose to use the Reaper Death Seal so that she could talk to him now and leave behind a message for him.

Kushina recites that message, "Don't be a picky eater, eat a lot and grow well! Make sure to bathe every day and stay warm, and don't stay up late, get plenty of sleep! Plus make friends, you don't need tons okay?! Just a few that you can really trust! And your mom was bad at this, but study hard and learn your ninjutsu! Just, everyone is good at some things and not so good at others, so even if things don't go well, don't get depressed, okay? At the academy, respect your teachers and those senior to you! Oh, and this is important, regarding the three prohibitions of the shinobi, especially money, be careful about loaning and barrowing. Make sure to studiously deposit your mission pay and don't start drinking until you're twenty-one, too much sake is bad for your body, so drink in moderation! And the most problematic, girls, I'm a girls so I don't know much about this, but at some point you'll notice girls, and that's normal. Just be careful, don't fall for the first girl that comes your way, find someone like me! Plus speaking of the three prohibitions, be wary of Jiraiya-sensei, ya know! Naruto, there'll be plenty of hard and painful times ahead, take care of yourself! Make sure to have dreams and the confidence to make those dreams come true! There really is so much more I want to tell you. I want to be with you longer. I love you."

After wiping away her tears, Kushina apologizes, "I'm so sorry for making you the Nine Tails' vessel, and making you bear our burden. For not being able to be at your side as you grew up, and not giving you the love you needed!"

Naruto responds, "Don't apologize. Okay, sure, I went through a lot as a kid because I was a jinchuuriki, but I would never blame you or dad for that. So yeah, I never really had parents since you and dad weren't around, but now I do. You died for me, you and dad, now I know that you always loved me! I'm happy! I'm glad I'm your kid!"

Kushina replies with tears of joy falling down her face, "Naruto, thank you for letting me become a mother, and Minato a father. Thank you so much for having been born to us!", capturing Naruto in a hug.

Breaking the hug, Naruto asks, "Are going to go now?"

Kushina answers, "Yes, I can now go join Minato on the other side, but first their is something I need to tell you, and one last thing to do."

Naruto asks rather confused, "What is it?"

Kushina tells him, "There is an old Uzumaki Clan Mask Storage Temple located along the outskirts of Konoha, I'll give you the coordinates to it. Inside is a wall of Noh masks, one of which holds the power of the Shinigami, as the only remaining member of our clan in Konoha, you have to protect it. Don't worry, you'll know instinctually which one it is, but I don't want you to ever use it. Got it?!"

Naruto responds, "Well, no shit! Who'd mess with the power of death it's self! I'm not stupid mom!"

Kushina scolds him, "Watch your language young man!", giving him the classic mother death stare.

Naruto gulps and apologizes, "Sorry mom! I will!"

Kushina responds, "Good! Now, back to what I was saying. Deeper inside the temple is a hidden room that will only open to someone with Uzumaki lineage. In that room is an Uzumaki Clan scroll holding secret jutsu of our clan, it belongs to you now, but be warned, don't try using any of them until your sealing skills are at least as good as Jiraiya's. Any less and you will end up killing yourself! Understand?!"

Naruto gulps while nodding his head in understanding, before asking, "What is it you have to do now?"

Kushina explains, "You see, Naruto, I was suppose to be here to help you take control of the Nine Tails power, but I can't now. If you are going to succeed, you'll need my chakra chains!"

Naruto excitedly asks, "Then your going to teach me how to do it?! That's awesome!"

Kushina chuckles before correcting him, "No Naruto, it's not a technique that can be taught, it's a kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki clan, a rare one at that!"

Naruto asks in confusion, "Then how are you going to give me them?"

Kushina smiles as she say, "Sorry about this Naruto.", holding up her hand, a chakra chain shoots out of her palm, piercing Naruto's stomach, channeling her remaining chakra into his chakra network.

Naruto starts screaming in pain as his body feels like it has fire pumping through it's veins.

A few minutes pass this way until Kushina's chain breaks off and sinks into Naruto's stomach and he falls to his knees, holding his gut as he yells, "What the HELL was that for?!"

Kushina glares at him, getting him to apologize for his language before she answers, "I did that in the hope that my potent chakra will be able to unlock your hidden Uzumaki genes. You have our powerful life force and stamina, but you lack our signature hair color and our kekkei genkai. The hair is understandable, your fathers genes were strong, but you still should have had at least our chakra sensory ability."

Naruto comments, "Maybe I just take after dad more than you, gene wise anyway?"

Kushina replies, "Most likely, but still, your body should still carry our clans genes in a dormant state, so that they can be passed down, to hopefully awaken inside of one of your children. I stimulated those gene with my chakra to wake them up, so to speak. There is only a two percent chance that'll actually work, but hey, it's better than nothing and like I said, you'll need my chains.", her body starting to disintegrate as she moves on.

Naruto asks, "But what if it fails?!"

She smiles as she answers, "You'll still find away to control the Nine Tails' power. You're our child after all, you won't fail!", disappearing completely at the end.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By: FallenDispair

Chapter: 7

I DON'T OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/11/19**

Authors Notes: I've decided not to make anymore lemons, I'll still reference that they had sex, but I won't go into detail anymore. I'm not that good at it and I don't want to risk my story being pulled. Plus the whole harem thing was last minute, due to people bugging about not wanting another Naru/Hina pairing like I originally planed, so the harem was a compromise. Also for those worried about this story being too canon, relax, even though this chapter will have a lot of canon, it'll start going off the rails by the end of it and in the fallowing chapters. Oh! one more thing, this: {link talk} will be used for talking with Fuu's link from now on. Thanks for the support!

With Orochimaru having gained enough strength to stand, he notices Sai approaching him, putting him on guard.

Sai stops at a safe distance from Orochimaru and says with his fake smile, "I am not your enemy, Orochimaru. I am an envoy from Danzo, and on his behalf I would like a word with you."

Orochimaru replies, "Danzo, so that senile geezer's still alive, and you're his new errand boy. Out with it then, what does he want from me?"

Sai answers, "The message I bring you is of utmost importance, Orochimaru. Danzo says-"

Orochimaru interrupts, "If I were you, errand boy, I'd choose my words wisely. Presuming you value your life."

Sai responds, "I am only allowed to relay the message as Danzo instructed. If that meets with your displeasure, then by all means, do what you will."

Orochimaru smiles before launching a blade out of his mouth, piercing Sai's chest before he comments darkly, "You really don't know your manners, do you."

Sai's body begins to melt before splatting into an ink puddle and Orochimaru's sword proceeds to turn into a snake and crawl back up Orochimaru's leg. Sai then pops out of the ground near the puddle of his ink clone.

Orochimaru then calmly says while his snake's head appears over his left shoulder hissing, "When addressing someone of superior rank, proper etiquette dictates you face them directly."

Back with Team Kakashi, Naruto's body glows with a light red tinge as he begins to thrash in agony, getting Sakura to stop glaring at Fuu and quickly start examining him.

Fuu asks in concern, "What's happening to him?! I thought you said he'd be okay now!"

Sakura answers in equal concern, "I-I don't know! There seems to be an unfamiliar chakra attacking Naruto's chakra network!"

Yamato recognizes that chakra as the one that helped him suppress the Nine Tails, but can't understand why it's attacking Naruto now!

Sakura quickly orders out, "Captain Yamato! Fuu! Hold Naruto down while I try sedating him!"

They both grab on to Naruto's limbs as Sakura rummages through her medical pouch, producing a syringe and a medical bottle. Using the syringe to extract the necessary dosage, Sakura then injects it into Naruto's main vein on his right arm, getting him to slowly stop thrashing around.

Fuu asks worriedly, "What did you do? Is he all better now?!"

Sakura replies, "I used a paralytic to stop his movements, so I haven't stopped the underline cause."

Yamato comments after breathing a sigh of relief, "Good work Sakura. Now is there anything you can do about the chakra attacking his network?"

Sakura answers, "I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about right now. Without knowing exactly what's causing it, I could end up making it worse, because any number of treatment options could have an adverse reaction to the chakra in his system. Which could lead to his network being irreparably damged, to possibly killing him!"

Fuu cries out hysterically, "Then what are we suppose to do?! I can't lose him! Please!"

Sakura solemnly responds, "All we can do is wait it out and hope he pulls through unharmed."

Fuu sinks back to her knees and takes Naruto's left hand into hers, bringing it up to her face so she can tenderly place her cheek against it, while muttering, "Please, Naruto. come back to me."

"Fuu? Where did I go?", a now conscious Naruto asks.

Everyone breaths a sigh of relief as Fuu immediately pulls Naruto into a bear-hug while shedding tears of joy, causing Naruto's ribs to start popping.

Naruto grunts out, "O-Ouch! F-Fuu stop it! Y-you're m-making it h-hard to breath!"

Fuu lets go of him while bashfully replying, "S-sorry Naruto. I'm just so happy that you are okay."

Naruto responds in a tender tone, "No, I'm sorry for worrying you, Fuu.", giving her a kiss on her forehead.

Yamato asks, "Naruto, what happened to you? I want all the details.", while giving Naruto a no non-sense look.

Sakura adds, "What happened with Orochimaru?! And why did you lose control after being knocked back here? Do you know anything about that foreign chakra attacking your chakra network?!"

Naruto responds while putting his hands up, "Hold your horses! One question at time! I'll start where I destroyed the bridge, and try to fill in any blanks that I can. Okay?"

Naruto tries to get up, only to be stopped by Sakura laying him back down on his back as she orders, "You can explain laying down while I examine you. I need to make sure that your chakra network isn't damaged."

Not in the mood to argue, Naruto complies and fills them in on everything that happened, from repeatedly fucking up Orochimaru, to his curse mark destroying the stability of his seals, ending with what his mother did to him before passing on.

Meanwhile, after Sai relayed Danzo's message, Orochimaru skeptically says, "So about this tale, give me one reason why I should believe you."

Sai reaches back with his left hand, digging into his pack to pull something out, only to be roughly tackled to the ground from behind by Kabuto. The items in Sai's pack fall out as Kabuto pins him to the ground with his left forearm and holding a kunai in his right hand.

Kabuto asks, "What's goin on here?", while moving his kunai closer to Sai's head.

Orochimaru replies, "You can relax, Kabuto, our ranks may have just increased by one."

Kabuto asks, "Can we really trust him?", not letting Sai up or pulling back his kunai.

Sai explains, "In that envelope is a note from Danzo, for you. Read it and see for yourself.", while pointing at said envelope on the ground.

Orochimaru walks over and picks up the envelope, opening it and saying in surprise, "This is."

Kabuto asks, "What does it say?"

Orochimaru just orders, "Kabuto, let that child up. We're taking him with us."

Kabuto follows his order without question, allowing Sai to pick himself up off the ground as Orochimaru asks, "Sai, was it? Shall we get going?"

Sai simply gives his fake smile and then they all speed away, unaware of Yamato's clone watching them as it comments to it's self, "Just as we suspected. Thankfully, I'd already planted it on him back at the hot springs, but it doesn't hurt to tail them in person as well. After all, that is my specialty.", speeding off to follow them.

Back with Team Kakashi, Naruto had just finished filling them in as Sakura finished her examination of his body, bringing a shocked look to her face.

Worried that it might be bad news, Naruto asks, "What is it Sakura? How bad am I hurt?"

Sakura sakes her head as she replies, "You're not hurt at all, besides some signs of fatigue. What surprised me is the fact that your chakra coils are larger than they were when I healed your skin!"

Yamato responds, "But that's not possible! It takes years for chakra coils to grow, even for those gifted with enormous amounts of charka, like Naruto!"

Naruto just scratches his head in confusion as he asks, "Um, is that bad?"

Sakura answers, "Only if the coils are damaged, but yours are perfectly fine. It seems that your mothers attempt at activating your dormant genes had an unforeseen side-effect. I just can't figure out how her chakra could have enlarged your coils to such a degree without tearing them apart?"

Fuu asks, "How much bigger are they now?"

Sakura replies, "Simply put, I'd say Naruto's coils are nearly twice as large as before. With an increase that dramatic, his coils should be shredded into pieces, but why not? Is it because of the Nine Tails?"

Yamato supplies Sakura with a theory, "It's most likely due to Kushina's chakra having the rare healing properties of the Uzumaki clan. It was said that a few members of the Uzumaki clan had such a powerful life force, that a person could heal their wounds by eating their chakra. But from what I've read on her old file, she didn't have that ability."

Sakura takes a moment to think before theorizing, "Perhaps her life force was potent enough, that when mixed with another Uzumaki's chakra, it could heal in a similar fashion. I should have gotten a sample of Naruto's chakra while Kushina's was mixing with it! Now there is no way to know for sure! What a rookie mistake!"

Naruto is still confused, so asks, "So, what does me having larger coils MEAN?! Is it going to be a problem?!"

Yamato answers him, "No, it's not a problem, in fact you could consider it a blessing. Larger coils happen as a person's chakra reserves increase, so as to keep the flow of chakra through the body steady and stable. With your coils increased by nearly double, that must indicate that your reserves have increased just as much, so you now have almost twice as much chakra as you had before."

Naruto whoops happily as he jumps in air, before stopping and grabbing his head suddenly. A confused look coming across his face.

Fuu asks rather concerned, "What's wrong? Do you have a headache or something?"

Sakura moves to check on him, but is stopped has Naruto raises a hand and says, "I'm not hurt. I just feel this weird sensation in my head. It's not painful, just unfamiliar."

Sakura asks, "Can you describe this sensation? It could be a concussion or signs of a blood clot forming in your brain, which is lethal."

Naruto describes, "I guess it's like a pinging sensation in my head, four of them. Uh, I can feel warmth from these pings and they feel strong and close, but each one is slightly different. Except one that seems far off and smaller, but feels just like one of the stronger ones. It's hard to describe."

Yamato has a feeling at what it is, so asks, "Naruto? can you locate these so called pings? Try focusing on just one of them."

Naruto replies, "I'll try.", closing his eyes and focusing on the strongest one that feels familiar. It seems to becoming from his immediate left and he feels warmth with a hint of a chill to it and- wait! There's another ping coming from inside it, but it feels dark and massive, but still has some light to it, just muddled in shadow, an image of a giant rhinoceros-like beetle appears inside his mind for a split second.

Naruto's head whips to his left as his eyes open, revealing Fuu standing there, looking at him, causing Naruto to say, "Wait a minute! Did I just sense Fuu and the Seven Tails?!"

Yamato answers with a grin, "Yes you did. I thought that you were sensing chakra when you mentioned feeling the exact same ping as one of the closer ones, that's my wood clone. It seems your mother's idea worked. You're a sensory type shinobi that the Uzumaki were known for."

Fuu happily says, "Congratulations Naruto! You have a kekkei genkai now!"

Sakura replies, "It is amazing, but I wouldn't call it a kekkei genkai. There are plenty of shinobi that excel in sensing chakra and don't belong to kekkei genkai baring clans."

Naruto asks, "Then my moms plan failed?"

Yamato answers, "No, not necessarily. The sudden awakening of your sensory ability may be an indication that the dormant kekkei genkai carrying genes have been partially activated. Most likely they need time or a traumatic event to trigger the change, like the sharingan in the Uchiha clan."

Naruto responds, "Awesome! Now all I have to do is train my new sensory ability and it'll wake up my chakra chains!"

Yamato sours his mood slightly, "Actually, chakra chains were very rare in the Uzumaki clan, your mother was the only confirmed one to have them. You could only develop the sensory ability, maybe gain healing properties, there's no guarantee as to what will happen. Every person is different in how they develop and receive kekkei genkai, sorry."

Naruto perks back up, replying, "No biggie! I already have more than I had before, plus my chakra's increased by a lot, so I'm good even if I don't get anything else!"

Sakura smile while she comments, "That's great Naruto, but now there is something else I want to discuss."

Naruto asks, "Huh? What is I-", being interrupted by Sakura slugging him in the face, sending him flying back into a tree with a crack!

As Naruto is about yell out, but he stops at Sakura's and Fuu's pissed off looks, as Sakura growls out, "Naruto! Where was it in the plan for you to destroy the bridge, knocking me out in the process, and running off to fight Orochimaru alone?!"

Naruto tries to explain while sweeting bullets, "Um, well, you see, I ah, kind of-"

Yamato finishes for him, "Your let your anger get the best of you and stopped thinking about the mission, rushing off in the attempt to kill Orochimaru. Naruto we've been over this, your anger is still your biggest weakness."

Fuu adds heatedly, "It nearly killed you! And if you keep this up, it will!"

Naruto lowers his head in shame, and apologizes, "I'm sorry, it's just I couldn't stand that jerk talking like he owns Sasuke. It doesn't excuse my behavior or the fact that I ended up hurting you, Sakura. I know I have anger issues and I'm going to be working on them, I have to! I never wanted to hurt someone I love and I'll make sure it never happens again! I give you my word and I never go back on my word! That's my nindo! Ya know!"

Yamato replies, "Good to see you learned from your mistake, but we need to get moving if we want to catch up with Sai."

Sakura asks, having just remembered about Sai, "Wait, were is Sai?!"

Over with Sai, their group is moving at high speeds through the trees as Kabuto informs, "Lord Orochimaru-"

Orochimaru interrupts, "I know, we're being tailed."

Kabuto theorizes, "Might be mere pursuit, or it might be a trap. How do you suggest we proceed?"

Orochimaru says sinisterly, "Either way, I believe a corpse is in order, wouldn't you agree, Kabuto?"

With Team Kakashi, who have been moved to Naruto's and Orochimaru's battle ground, by Naruto Hirashining them there with one of his kunai that still litter the ground. Naruto is collecting his kunai and resealing them as Fuu looks around at the battlefield, impressed with the amount of damage they caused. Sakura and Yamato are standing by a puddle of ink with Sai's stuff littering the ground.

Sakura notices Sai's picture book under an open scroll and picks it up as she comments, "Sai's stuff is all over the place."

Yamato replies, "For him to leave behind his prized possessions, even he must have been pretty rattled by Orochimaru."

Fuu responds as she and Naruto joins them, "It sound like you were there when it happened."

Yamato explains, "Until just now, I was in communication with my wood clone, who was here, via our wireless implants."

Naruto asks in confusion, "Implants? Do you have a radio or something implanted in your head?!"

Yamato chuckles while answering, "No, Naruto. I'm talking about chakra laced seeds made by my wood release. They allow for long range communication with my clone and allow me track a target I seeded, even from great distances. I might not look it, but I excel at tracking."

Fuu responds, "That's awesome! And your right, you don't really look like the type. You seem more lame than that, appearance wise that is."

As Yamato becomes depressed with a rain cloud forming over his head, but snaps out of it as Sakura asks, "What happened to Sai?"

Yamato answers, "Well, after exchanging words with Orochimaru here, Sai left with him and Kabuto."

Naruto asks, "What do you mean he left with them?"

Sakura adds, "Did you also hear what they said to each other?"

Yamato replies, "Unfortunately, my clone was too far away to overhear their conversation."

Naruto thinks out loud, "I wonder what they talked about?"

Sakura suggests, "Maybe he was threatened or intimidated into going with them?"

Fuu responds frantically, "He was kidnapped?! Then we need to hurry and rescue him! Even though Sai's a jerk, he's still our comrade!"

Yamato gets Fuu to relax by explaining, "No, it didn't seem like that. He approached Orochimaru of his own accord and handed something to him."

Naruto loudly protests Yamato's insinuation, "Whoa! Hold on! I don't like the guy either, but there's no way he'd betray us-"

Sakura interrupts calmly, "Actually, Naruto, there may be some truth to that.", stopping to think about what Tsunade told her about Danzo, before asking, "Captain Yamato, are you familiar with a man named Danzo?"

Yamato answers, "I do know him, he's a member of the hawk faction that opposed the Third Hokage."

Naruto asks, "That guy who forced Sai onto our team?"

Sakura clarifies, "Yes, he's a geezer who doesn't think highly of the Third Hokage's legacy."

Yamato places his hand on his chin in a thinking pose as he theorizes, "Danzo may be plotting something, using Sai. It's possible Sai received orders from Danzo to carry out some top-secret mission separate from ours."

Naruto asks, "You mean all this time, Sai's been a double agent, just waiting for the chance to carry out some totally different mission?"

Sakura answers, "That's about the jest of it."

Fuu asks rather confused, "But for what possible reason? What does that geezer Danzo hope to accomplish?"

Yamato reassumes his thinking pose for a moment, before responding, "This is a wild guess, but since it's not completely out of the question, listen closely. Danzo may be planning to destroy Konoha."

Naruto yells out in disbelief, "What?! Why the hell would he want to do that?!"

Yamato clarifies, "He may be trying to conspire with Orochimaru to get him to attack Konoha once more, in order to overthrow Lady Tsunade."

Sakura adds, "After the current regime has fallen, he would rebuild the village as he envisions, and install himself as the Hokage!"

Yamato continues, "Danzo is probably making his move now, because having seen Orochimaru fail during his previous invasion, he feels he's in a superior position to negotiate."

Naruto replies after getting it, "N-No way, you mean Sai's top-secret mission-"

Sakura finishes, "May be to join Orochimaru's ranks and become the conduit between him and Danzo."

Fuu says while understanding, "Then Sai and this Danzo geezer are traitors that are planning a coup, using Orochimaru to do his dirty work! That's disgusting!"

Yamato says "Depending on the situation, we may have to neutralize Sai. right now my clone is pursuing them, but I don't know what might happen, so we need to get moving immediately."

With Yamato's clone tailing Sai through the trees, it runs in to the hanging body of Sai, tied to a branch. It's surprised to find him dead, but he can't help but hand it to Orochimaru for sensing his tail and leaving behind the target.

Team Kakashi is moving through the tree tops, following Yamato's clone that's trailing Sai. As Sakura grabs a branch with her left arm as her wound fires up in pain, causing her grunt out as she loses her grip and tumbles to the ground.

Naruto yells out her name as she fall, quickly covering the distance and catching before she hits the ground. Propping her up against a tree and removing her medical pouch and placing it next to her, so she can treat herself. She's sweating in pain while holding the wound Naruto gave her as he lost control to the Nine Tails.

Naruto is on his hands and knees right in front of Sakura, looking at her wounded arm, before saying with deep regret, "I'm sorry Sakura, it's all my fault that this happened. Pervy Sage told me that the Fox's chakra acts like an acidic poison, some of it must have gotten into your body through the wounds I gave you. I-I can actually feel it's vile chakra present in your arm, you need to remove it, if you can, because it seems to be spreading."

Sakura replies, "Okay, thanks for the heads up and I'll try. Just don't worry about it, they only hurt a little now, so don't worry, I'm fine.", putting on smile to try and ease some of Naruto's gult.

Naruto responds, "Sakura, don't over do it!"

Fuu adds, "We can't afford to lose you, because if you die due to these injuries, Naruto would never forgive himself. So please, take the time to heal yourself right.", making Naruto actually feels worse.

Yamato orders, "Let's take a break. Sakura is our only medic, we need her hale and hearty for our mission to succeed."

Sakura protests, "I said I'm fine! We have to get moving again! If we falter here, it's all over, right?!"

Yamato replies, "Normally I'd agree with you, Sakura, but haste makes waste. Charging in right now might get the job done, but being rash and reckless most certainly will not."

Naruto adds, "Besides, you're our only monstrously strong medical shinobi! We need you healthy like Captain Yamato said!"

Sakura yells out, "Who're you calling monstrous?!"

Fuu replies, "But you are monstrously strong, Sakura."

Sakura yells at Fuu now, "Hey don't you start too!"

Naruto stands up as he says, "Well, seeing as we're stopped, I'll head out to take a bathroom break. Be back in a few minutes."

Yamato replies, "Hold on Naruto! I'll join you, I need to go too!"

Naruto responds, "Uh, no thanks! I prefer to have privacy!"

Yamato grabs Naruto by the shoulder and whispers, "I know what your trying to do, you plan on reapplying your tetragram seal on top of the trigram seal again. I don't think that's wise, with what happened, you should wait. After all, isn't the Eight Trigram Seal still damaged?"

Naruto replies, "My mom was able to repair most of the damage, but, as it sits, I only give it a year before it fails, and the amount of the Nine Tails chakra that leaks out is so massive that if I draw on any of it, I'll end up in the two tails cloak immediately. I have no other choice but to reapply the tetragram seal, and even if I didn't, with the current state of the trigram seal, if Orochimaru places the curse mark back on me again, it will break completely! At least with my tetragram seal, I won't lose control when I get angry, but it will cut the time I have left with the trigram seal in half."

Yamato sighs in defeat, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Reapply the tetragram seal, at least that way we have six months until you have to find a way to gain control of the Nine Tails' chakra."

Over with Orochimaru and Kabuto, they are running across a river as Orochimaru comments, "It seems our pursuer has halted, does that mean our ruse worked?"

Kabuto responds, "We can never be too cautious."

Orochimaru praises, "But I must say, that was a splendid piece of work, as always, Kabuto."

Kabuto replies, "I owe it all to you, Lord Orochimaru. With your guidance, I've now created countless corpses. Which reminds me, can we have that child help us with the experiments? When he's not too busy relaying information back to Danzo, of course.", referring to Sai following behind them.

Orochimaru answers in an uninterested manner, "Humph. Do as you like."

Back with Yamato's clone that is examining the corpse of the Sai look-a-like, commenting to it's self, "It is a forged corpse, probably Kabuto's doing. I can't believe they picked up on my pursuit so quickly, and I was so confident. Means I need to be even more discreet from here on out.", only catching the ruse by faint traces of sutures on his head. He then leaves to continue his pursuit, but more carefully.

Over with Team Kakashi, Sakura is flipping through Sai's picture book with Fuu looking over her shoulder, as confused looks adore their faces. Meanwhile, Naruto had just finished reapplying his tetragram seal with Yamato's aid, mostly just being prepared to suppress the Nine Tails' chakra.

Sakura calls out, "Hey! Naruto! Captain Yamato! The both of you, come here!"

Heading over to see what the big deal is, Naruto comments, "Hey! That's Sai's book!"

After getting a good look with Fuu leaning on his back after moving over for him, Naruto comments, "These pictures are weird."

Yamato adds, "Sai drew them, eh?"

Fuu chimes in, "They don't seem weird to me. They tell an interesting story, if somewhat sad, if you look at it the right way."

Over with Orochimaru's group, Sai is washing is face in the river as Kabuto cleans his medical equipment, getting Orochimaru to ask, "Kabuto, can't that wait until we get home?", while sitting down, overlooking them, on top of a boulder.

Kabuto answers while examining his scalpel, "No, the blades will lose their razor-sharp edge if one doesn't clean the blood immediately. Lord Orochimaru, when we return, may I have another male corpse?"

Orochimaru asks, "Don't you have some?"

Kabuto answers while unveiling a storage scroll with spots in kanji indicating age groups, with one being empty, "Oh, I have many, just no more fifteen to sixteen range males, like this one. If I don't always have at least one of each age range stored in chronological order in my scroll, I get anxious."

Silently agreeing with a sweat drop going down his face, Orochimaru asks for clarification, "Your blood-type is A, right, Kabuto?"

Kabuto corrects, "AB actually."

Sai in the meantime is scrubbing his face with a towel to dry off, opening his pack to put away his towel, he notices that his picture book is missing.

As Sai rummages around his pack frantically, Orochimaru takes notice and asks, "Something wrong Sai?"

He replies, "It's- It's nothing."

Kabuto responds, "Then lets get going, we still have a ways to go.", Sai's face becoming almost unnoticeably solemn.

Back with Team Kakashi, Yamato asks, "What story is that, Fuu?"

Fuu explains, "This story is about the two boys drawn on the cover, each boy's adventure begins separately, starting with the cover at either end, then going inward."

Sakura comments, "Yeah, I picked up on that my self, but there's no dialogue or text all. So what's the story about?"

Fuu replies, "First, look at the black haired boy, doesn't he look like Sai?"

Naruto answers, "Yeah actually, so what?"

Fuu continues, "As Sai's journey goes forward, he beats an opponent and acquires their weapon, meaning he's become stronger while passing a kind of test, moving closer to the end, where he's a full fledged shinobi."

Sakura replies while flipping through the pages, "Yeah, you're right! It's Sai's story of becoming a shinobi, but then who's the other boy- Wait! is that-"

Fuu continues, "Yup, his dead older brother. Just like Sai, he was moving along to become a shinobi, but seeing as he didn't make it to the centerfold, he must have died in the final test to be a shinobi. He never got to graduate with Sai at the end."

Naruto says, "So this an exaggerated story of Sai and his brother going through the academy together to become shinobi, only for his brother to die before graduation."

Sakura quietly comment, "Yeah. It's a sad story that explains why it was never finished."

Yamato cuts in after receiving images from his wood clone, "Lets head out. My clone has tracked down Orochimaru's hideout.", getting everyone to put aside what they just learned about Sai to get back on mission.

Inside Orochimaru's hideout, inside a large dark room, sitting in front of a large snake statue with it's eyes as the only source of light, being candles, is a young man shrouded in darkness.

Said young man says in a cool, yet irritated voice, "You're late. You said you were going to help me hone a new jutsu this afternoon, Orochimaru.", as Orochimaru enters with Kabuto and Sai.

Kabuto warns, "If I were you, boy, I'd take a more respectful tone when addressing Lord Orochimaru."

Orochimaru replies, "Enough Kabuto. Our efforts today have been rewarded with a little gift. Someone for our friend here to reminisce with, a shinobi from his dear Konohagakure."

The young man humphs as he opens his eyes, that seem to glow in the darkness that shrouds him, revealing a pair of sharingan. That gets Sai to think that he has finally found Uchiha Sasuke as he sees his eyes.

Over with Team Kakashi that's running on top of the same river as Orochimaru's group did, Sakura speaks up with determination, "Naruto. This time, we'll bring Sasuke back together."

Naruto replies with equal determination, "No doubt about it."

Back inside Orochimaru's hideout, Sai puts on his classic fake smile and says, "So, you're the legendary Uchiha Sasuke. I'm Sai. Nice to meet-"

"Get lost.", Sasuke interrupts.

Sai responds, "No matter how much I smile, everyone seems to dislike me right away, even Naruto. But I can already tell you're nothing like him, so I have a feeling that you and I will get along much better."

Looking into Sasuke's sharingan, Sai is suddenly impacted by an image filled with dark imagery with the sharingan at the center, clearly getting hit with a genjutsu made to incite fear. Sai's eyes open wide as he gasps, taking a fearful step back, only to trip and land on his behind.

Kabuto yells out in a commanding tone, "Sasuke, stop!", getting him to release his genjutsu.

Sai wipes the sweat off his face, surprised to be sweating from fear. He's suppose to have no emotions, yet somehow, just by meeting Sasuke's eyes, he felt fear from the bottom of his heart.

Orochimaru warns, "You shouldn't bait Sasuke too much. He can be more difficult than I am."

Sasuke stands up while responding, "I don't care about him. Come on Orochimaru, let's go"

Sai replies while getting up, "Naruto's told me a lot about you. He's been looking for you this whole time, you know. These last three years."

Sasuke narrows his eyes dangerously, before responding, "Oh yeah, him.", in a rather dismissive tone, before moving on, "Let's go, Orochimaru-"

Sai interrupts him, "Naruto, he thinks of you as a brother, or so Sakura says."

Sasuke thinks for a moment, before replying coldly, "The only brother I have, I want to kill.", his face illuminating slightly before disappearing in a rush of speed, leaving only a blur and some dust in his wake.

Orochimaru walks over to Kabuto and hands him the envelop Sai gave him, while saying, "I'm going to join him. Kabuto, why don't you compile a bingo book with these."

As Orochimaru turns and walks away, Kabuto opens up the envelop and look at it's contents, saying in surprise, "This is, a copy of the register of Anbu members directly assigned to the Hokage.", stopping to flip through the pages until he runs across Yamato's file, "It seems authentic."

Outside Orochimaru's hideout, Team Kakashi has just met up with Yamato's clone that informed them that the entrance is underneath the rock formation in front of them.

Yamato asks, "Naruto, can you sense anything?"

Naruto closes his eyes to focus his newly acquired ability, before answering, "I'm new at this, so don't get angry with me if it's wrong, but yes, I do sense four pings, I mean chakra signatures."

Sakura asks hopefully, "Can you tell which one is Sasuke's?"

Naruto shakes his head as he replies, "No, sorry I can't tell who's is which. I can only feel their strength and, I don't know, color, or feel to them."

Fuu responds, "Hey that's great Naruto! You've only had them for a bit, so don't get down because you can't pinpoint Sasuke's location yet."

Yamato adds, "Fuu's right, Naruto. It's good enough that you can give us a number of occupants, and besides, four means that their is one more with them, and that could be Sasuke."

Naruto replies, "All right, lets go."

Yamato blocks Naruto's path with his right arm, saying, "Wait.", then proceeds to place his left hand on his clones back. The clone then turns into wood and starts receding into a seed in Yamato's hand.

Offering it up to Naruto, Yamato says, "Swallow this first, Naruto.", then raising his other hand with two more seeds, adds, "Sakura, Fuu, the both of you too. So that if we get separated, I can locate you right away."

Fuu asks, "Are these those seeds you told us about?"

Yamato answers, "Yes, these seeds are transmitters for tracking. It's a ninja tool that only resonates with my chakra. I planted a few in Sai's clothing, and his meals."

Sakura replies while holding hers between her thumb and index finger, "So, that's how you were able to follow him!"

Naruto asks, "But when did you implant them?"

Yamato explains, "I got out first at the hot springs, remember? Now do you understand why I splurged for those luxuries out of my own pocket? Good thing I planned ahead regarding Sai. It was just as Lady Tsunade predicted. But enough about the past, lets get moving."

Fuu comments, "Too bad Naruto didn't keep his Hirashin mark on Sai, then we could just wait until he's alone, via Naruto's new sensory ability, and he could just Hirashin us in. Quick, easy, and without a sound."

Naruto responds a little irritated, "Hey! How was suppose to know Sai was going to turn traitor? Besides, Captain Yamato and Baa-chan ordered me to remove it, so it's not my fault!"

Sakura scolds them, "Shut it you two! Just hurry up and get ready before you give away our positons, ruining the element of surprise!", getting them both to shut up.

After swallowing the seeds they all get ready for infiltrating Orochimaru's hideout, before Yamato explains, "Our order of infiltration will be, me first, Fuu second, Sakura third, and Naruto last."

Sakura asks, "And the infiltration method?"

Yamato answers, "By the book. I'll use Earth style jutsu, and we'll approach from underground. Fuu, link us up, I want complete silence from this point on."

As Fuu links them up, Naruto thinks about how they've finally found Sasuke.

Back inside the hideout, Kabuto is walking Sai to his room down a long dark hallway, light by candles on the walls. Fortunately, the entire base is made out of rock, so they don't have to worry about it catching fire.

Reaching Sai's room, Kabuto opens it while walking in and welcoming him. Moving past the bed, where he places the envelop down as he moves to light the candle on the dresser, while explaining, "This will be your room. Until you are needed, you'll remain here. Quietly. If something comes up, we'll let you know."

Walking pass Sai, who's looking around his new room, Kabuto heads out the door and pulls out a key, before shutting the door, he further explains, "Sorry, but I'm going to have to lock you in, because you're, well, you know.", shutting the door and locking it audibly.

Sai press his ear to the door, listening to Kabuto's footsteps disappear, indicating that he's left. Once Sai is sure that he's alone, he walks over to the dresser and pulls out two scrolls from his pack and unrolls them in a cross pattern.

Underground with Team Kakashi, right outside the hideout's wall, Yamato comments through Fuu's link, {Looks like the hideout is completely surrounded by rock.}

Naruto suggests, {I can blast through it with my rasengan.}

Sakura replies, {No! If you use such a flashy justu, you'll alert the enemy!}

Fuu asks, {Then how do we break through solid rock with out alerting the enemy?}

Yamato is looking across the rocks surface until he find a crack, saying/thinking, {Found it. This is how we get through Fuu.}

Naruto replies with a deadpan face, {I don't think we can fit through a crack.}

Yamato explains as his finger sprouts a root and starts digging into the crack while expanding, {The more solid the rock face, the less force need be applied to a small fissure, and voila! There you go.}, the root expands through the rock, making a square opening large enough for them to go through with minimal noise.

Once they are all inside, Sakura comments, {Infiltration accomplished. Now what?}

Yamato replies, {First we look for Sai.}, then he closes his eyes to pinpoint Sai's location, opening them and saying, {This way. Naruto, I want you to do periodic scans with your sensory ability to make sure that no one else is around us, also give me their current layout.}

Naruto closes his eyes and reports, {The one to the right is stationary, another one in that direction is moving away from the first, the other and more powerful one's seem to be together on the other side of this place, but their chakra seems, brighter, no, um, more active, colliding with each other, maybe training or fighting? I can't tell for sure.}

Yamato replies, {That's fine Naruto. The stationary one is Sai, and you just confirmed he's alone, so we're good to go, just keep a look out for the other three.}

In Sai's room, he standing over the crossed scrolls, with hand outlines on the left and right ends, while in the center is the kanji for secret. Placing his hands in the outlines and channeling chakra, a black book appears out of the circle. Sai picks it up and flips through the pages, stopping at one in particular and reading it.

Team Kakashi is moving around the corners with caution, not completely trusting Naruto's new abilities, making sure the cost is clear before advancing.

Kabuto is headed off to make the bingo book Orochimaru wants, but realizes that he forgot the envelop in Sai's room, and has to head back.

As Sai is reading the book, he is startled by the door unlocking. Quickly hiding the book in his pack, not wanting Kabuto to see it.

As the door creaks open, Yamato says with his head peeking in, "There you are.", further surprising Sai.

Sai puts on his fake smile and comments, "Trust an Anbu directly linked to the Hokage not to be fooled by that corpse."

Yamato holds his finger, turned wooden key, up as he mentally orders Fuu to link up Sai, and says through the link as his finger returns to normal, {Now, why don't you tells us what's going on.}

Naruto grabs Sai by his jacket with his right hand while shouting through the link, {Yeah, jerk! Why'd you betray us?!}

Sai replies out loud, "Well, I-"

Naruto pulls out a kunai with his left hand and places it to Sai's throat, warning him, {Speak through the link! We don't want someone to hear us, if you open your mouth again, then I slit it! Understand?!}

Sakura responds, {Naruto! Don't be rash! We still need him alive, so back off!}

Naruto lets Sai go and pockets his kunai while replying, {Whatever!}, as Sakura pulls Sai's book from her pouch.

Sakura hands Sai his book while saying, {Here, this is yours, right?}

Sai replies using the link, {Thanks.}

Sakura then asks, {Danzo gave you orders, didn't he? He's trying to ally with Orochimaru for some purpose, and you were selected to be their go-between. So, what's he plotting?}

Yamato suggests, {He's proposing for Orochimaru to try Operation Destroy Konoha again, isn't he?}

Sai is quiet for a moment, before putting on his smile and answering, {No, you're-}

Naruto interrupts loudly, {Stop smiling! I know you're just faking it! Everything you say is nothing but a big fat LIE!}

Sai drops the smile and replies, {Well, now that you've finally figured me out, seems my mission is officially a failure. But since I can't take on all of you together, and since you've guessed so much already, there's no point in hiding the truth any longer. You are correct. The plan was to get rid of Konoha as we know it.}

Naruto respond in shock, {What?!}

Fuu adds, {So you really are a traitor!}

Sai just calmly continues, {My assignment was to find an opportunity to approach Orochimaru and entice him to help destroy Konoha.}

Yamato orders, {Keep talking. I want all the details.}, while holding a kunai out with his right hand.

Naruto snaps, {What more is there to know?! He's a traitor and a-}

Sai interrupts just as calmly as ever, {Do not rush to judge me, Naruto, until you have all the facts. I was ordered to secretly report back Orochimaru's activities to Lord Danzo. In short, to act as his spy.}

Sakura comments, {Enter a conspiracy with Orochimaru while playing him at the same time? That's an extremely dangerous game.}

Sai responds, {Well, if Konoha did fall, we expected Orochimaru to try to betray us at some point, so consider this our way of maintaining the upper hand.}

Sakura replies, {So Danzo wants Konoha for himself, and you were sent in, alone, to set all this in motion.}

Sai clarifies, {I was specifically chosen for this mission because of my abilities. The intelligence I write in ink can transform itself into little creatures that can defend themselves while traveling back to Konoha.}

Sakura's face scrunches up in anger before she yells, {If Konoha falls, a lot of people will die! Do you have any idea of the consequences of what you're doing?!}

Sai simply replies, {Well, I'm just following orders.}

Fuu responds loudly, {But even so, to callously follow those orders is wrong! How can you Sai?!}

Sai explains, {Oh, and Sai is just a name I was given for the purpose of this mission. I'm actually nobody. I am merely an extension of Lord Danzo's will. I myself do not exist. Therefore, it's useless to say anything to me}, getting Naruto and Fuu to look at him with rage filled eyes, while Sakura narrows her eyes on the book in Sai's hand.

Sakura asks, {Then why do you carry around that picture book?!}

Sai's eyes widen a bit, before looking down at his picture book in his hand as Sakura continues, {The two boys on the covers are you and your brother, right? You hang onto it because it is the only thing that proves you actually do exist. You're not as emotionless as you'd have everyone believe. Not even shinobi can cut off their feelings completely, you know.}

Sai asks rather uncertain, {How does possessing this book translate into proving my existence?}

Sakura answers, {Because abandoning it means abandoning your identity as a brother. And that's something you just can't bring yourself to do. Do you know why?}, not getting a response, Sakura continues, {Because your bond with your older brother still matters to you. It's that important. You don't want to erase your relationship with him.}

Sai's eyes widen in surprise at Sakura's words, getting him to ask in confusion, {Relationship?}

Yamato cuts in, {Sorry, but we flipped through your picture book. The centerfold is the only illustration that's incomplete. By the flow of the visual narrative, from cover to cover, it seems the next logical battle would be with your brother. Sai, I know you're from the foundation. You've recived special training from Danzo to kill all emotions. Evil extercises similar to that which used to be practiced in Kirigakure, the village of bloody mist. So, did you do it? Did you kill your brother?}

Fuu interrupts, {Wait! Kill his brother? Bloody mist? What evil practices?!}

Sakura explains, {Back during the last shinobi war, shinobi of Kiri had to pass an evil graduation exam that forced them to kill their fellow classmates. Zabuza told us that only those capable of killing their friends, could become shinobi in Kiri.}

Fuu responds, sickened to her stomach, {That's just horrible! Wait! That means, Danzo forces siblings to kill each other! What the hell is wrong with this geezer?! And why the hell is he not imprisoned for all the messed up stuff he does?!}

Yamato answers, {Because Fuu, Danzo maybe known as the Shinobi of Darkness, but he's smart enough to make sure that there is no evidence of his wrong doings. So, there's nothing anyone can do to him.}

Naruto replies in a disgusted tone, {Like I needed another reason to hate that old gezzer! If I ever meet this Danzo fucker, then I'll plant my foot so far up his-}

Yamato cuts him off by saying, {Naruto! You'll do no such thing. Like I said, there is no proof of his wrong doings, until now that seems, but regardless, if you attack Danzo without evidence to back your claims, then you'll be the one locked up! Now, Sai, answer my question.}

Sai answers, {No! This book, it was suppose to be a gift, but before I completed it, he got sick and died. We may not have been related by blood, but he was the closest thing to family I ever had. There are a lot of children from families torn apart by warfare in the Foundation. My brother treated me like a real sibling. This picture book, what I wanted to show him the most was the final centerfold, but after he died, I couldn't remember what I had been planning to draw.}

Naruto suddenly feels a chakra signature approaching, after remembering to check on the other chakra signatures, so says, {Hey! We need to go! Someone's headed this way!}

Yamato wraps Sai up in his wood release bindings and they all leave back out from where they came in, taking Sai prisoner.

Back outside, where Team Kakashi meet up with Yamato's clone, Sai is sitting on the ground, leaning against the rock formation behind him. He's looking up at his captors that surround him, his chakra sealed by Naruto with the Hirashin placed on him.

Yamato says, "Sorry Sai, but I'm going to have to leave you here with my clone standing watch."

Naruto cracks his knuckles while saying with determination, "All right, down to our real business, lets go rescue Sasuke!"

Sai asks, "And what if he doesn't want to be rescued? I actually got to meet him,", getting all their attention, he continues, "but Orochimaru is always at his side. Cross him and he'll tear you to pieces and use your body for his experiments. Besides, even though Sakura told me you think of Sasuke as a brother, he said that you mean nothing to him. So why do you still care so much? Why stand up to the likes of Orochimaru and risk your own life to save someone who doesn't want to be saved? Why? It's not like anyone's ordering you to."

Naruto puts on a closed eye smile, that has a tint of sadness to it, while explaining, "When I first met Sasuke, I totally hated him, but at the same time, I also really enjoyed being around him. Because he really accepted me more than anyone else. I'm doing this because Sasuke is my friend and that's a bond that can never be broken."

Sai looks at Naruto, rather confused by his words, while asking, "Bond, but still, to go up against Orochimaru?"

Naruto responds with a toothy grin, "Ha! I gave that slimy snake a real beating last time! The only reason he got the upper hand on me, was because of his curse mark crap messing with my seal, but I won't fall for the same trick twice! Plus, this time I'm not rushing in all hot headed, I have help this time. And even if he tears my arms off, I'll kick him dead. If tears my legs off, I'll bit him dead. If he tears my head off, I'll glare him dead. And if he pokes my eyes out, I'll curse him dead. Let Orochimaru try and cut me to pieces, I'll still find a way to get Sasuke to come home!"

Everyone looks at Naruto and the confidence that's brimming from his every pour, before Yamato makes a hand-sign and says, "Let me create the lookout so we can go back in.", only for them to sense an attack and jump out of the way as about a dozen kunai rain down around Sai.

Kabuto lands in front of Sai while commenting, "From the looks of it, Sai, you've been captured", standing straight and walking over to Sai, Kabuto forms his chakra scalpel and cuts through Sai's binding while saying, "Well, you don't appear to have betrayed us, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Sakura utters out in annoyance, "That Kabuto is such a pest!"

Naruto says out loud, "If you try and stop us, Sai, we won't hold back!", all the while focusing on the other two chakra's inside the hideout, making sure they are not coming to help Kabuto. Luckily, the two seem to be headed away from each other and not in his direction, meaning Sasuke's alone now.

While Naruto was focused on using his new sensory ability, his clone was distracting Kabuto by trying to hit him from above with a rasengan, getting Kabuto to comment, "You're wasting your time.", as he dispels it with a kick.

Naruto replies, "I went toe-to-toe with Orochimaru, and you think I can't handle you four eyes!"

Kabuto responds, "No, no. I'm not talking about that. People change. Sasuke is no longer the boy you knew.", his face becoming sympathetic in appearance.

As Naruto and Kabuto stare each other down, Sai comes up from behind Kabuto and grabs him by hooking his arms underneath Kabuto's pits, restraing his movements and shocking everyone there.

Kabuto asks completely confused, "What are you doing?!"

Sai responds, "If people change, then so can I."

Kabuto replies, "What?!"

Sai continues, "But some things don't change. Bonds, I'd like to learn more about them."

Everyone is both surprised and confused by Sai's turn around, while Yamato orders, "That's it, Sai! Hold him like that a little longer.", binding Kabuto in the same fashion as Sai.

As Naruto seals Kabuto chakra and adds a Hirashin mark, Fuu asks in a confused tone, "Does this mean Sai's on our side again?"

As Yamato create a wood clone to stand watch, Naruto responds, "I'm not sure? Sai, what's up with you?!"

Sai answers, "I'm curious about this bond you and Sasuke share, that keeps you going after him. The how and why. Watching the two of you, makes me realize that perhaps I haven't been able to erase my bond with my brother. And if Sakura is right, if that really is such an important thing to me, perhaps I can figure out why by observing the bond between you and Sasuke. That's all."

Naruto looks away, lost in thought until a smile appears on his face, only to be interrupted by Kabuto yelling out, "You just don't get Sasuke at all!", breaking out into laughter.

Sakura angrily yells back, "Stop laughing! You think this is funny?!"

Yamato cuts in calmly, "Enough. Where is he?"

Kabuto looks up at him with heated eyes and replies, "By now, he's probably finished training and has retired to one of the inner rooms. This place is riddled with self-contained rooms. You'll have to check room by room in order to find him. But if you're not careful, poking the wrong bush will flush out some snakes. For Lord Orochimaru's private quarters are located near there as well."

Naruto stays quiet about knowing both their locations, wanting to keep his new ability secret, as Yamato responds, "Thank you for your honesty."

Kabuto replies playfully, "Oh no, no need to thank me."

Yamato finishes, "Because we're going to get killed anyway?"

Kabuto smugly answers, "Yes."

Yamato responds unaffected, "Yeah, well, that's yet to be seen. Anything is possible, even our winning."

Back inside the hideout with Team Kakashi, Yamato orders, "Alright, Naruto, where are the other two signatures? We'll split into two teams here and take one of the chakra signatures each. Fuu and I will be one pair, with one of Naruto's shadow clones to guide us; Naruto, Sai, and Sakura will be the other. If anything goes wrong, just manipulate your chakra. It'll activate the tree seed inside you and alert me. I'll come running right away. Also, remember that regardless of who, one of our teams will run into Orochimaru. If you run into him, run, your mission is Sasuke's retrieval, not killing Orochimaru."

After making a shadow clone for Yamato's team, Naruto's team heads off in another direction, chasing down one of the signatures. Along the way to, what Naruto hopes is Sasuke, he ends up tripping from shooting pain rushing through his body.

As Naruto face-plants, Sakura runs toward him and starts running a scan on his body as Sai says, "Naruto, Yamato split us up so that regardless of which, one of our teams will find Sasuke. Just take it easy."

Naruto replies heatedly, "Shut up! There's no time to rest! We've got to find Sasuke-"

Sakura interrupts him by slamming his head into the ground and warning him, "Don't move while I'm examining you! Who knows what could go wrong? I could accidently cut one of your major arteries, killing you!", that got Naruto to shut up and lay still, not knowing Sakura was lying to him.

Sakura gets Sai to help her prop Naruto up as she heals him from behind, trying to refill some his lost chakra and lower his pain as Naruto asks, "Sakura, what happened? My body felt like it was suddenly on fire!"

Sakura answers, "It's a residual side effect of your increased charka coils. Though they are miraculously intact, they're still raw and will hurt when using your chakra too excessively. Don't worry, the pain will stop once you've had time to break them in, so to speak."

Naruto replies, "We don't have time! I'll just get use to the pain for now!"

Sai takes a seat next to Naruto as he comments, "Boy, you really are like my older brother. He was loudmouthed and impatient too, unrefined, uncouth, the list of his shortcomings goes on and on. But you know, when he did something, he always gave it his all, just like you. Watching you has helped me remember him.", pulling out his book and showing it to Naruto.

Then, while looking at Naruto, Sai suddenly starts rummaging through his pack, pulling out his ink and brush, and starts drawing in his picture book.

Naruto asks, "Hey! What are you drawing?! And now of all times?!"

Sai answers as he finishes, "I remembered, I finally remembered! The dream drawing that I wanted to show my brother.", a real smile from the bottom of his heart appearing on his face.

The drawing that Naruto and Sakura see is, the finished centerfold of the picture book of Sai and his older brother holding hands and smiling as full fledged shinobi. The centerfold, and more importantly Sai's genuine smile, bring smiles to both Naruto's and Sakura's faces.

Unfortunately, the sound of a footfall interrupts the moment, shocking the three of them as Orochimaru asks in chilling voice, "Tell me, Sai, whose side are you really on?"

As Naruto's group stands up, Orochimaru attacks them with his striking shadow snakes, forcing them to jump back, leaving Sai's pack on the ground, while Orochimaru comments, "The wrong side, apparently, my dear Sai."

Naruto moves forward while ordering, "You guys go find Sasuke, leave snake face to me!"

Sakura replies in concern, "Naruto, I'm not leaving you alone, you're still not at hundred percent! There's no point in saving Sasuke if you die in the process! Sai can get Sasuke on his own, and that's final!", leaving no room for argument.

Naruto sighs, then yells out, "You heard her, Sai! GO!"

Sai replies, "All right. We'll meet you both outside, good luck.", turning and running off down the hall in Sasuke's general direction.

Orochimaru humorously responds, "So you came here to retrieve Sasuke, eh? I commend your zeal, but I assure you, the outcome of this will not be in your favor."

Naruto shouts back, "Shut up! This time we're taking you down, then we're bringing Sasuke home!"

Sakura starts things off with a yell and a jump forward, her fist cocked back to rain down on Orochimaru's head. Being familiar with Tsunade's fighting style, Orochimaru knows the danger of that blow and jumps back to avoid Sakura's earth shattering punch.

Out of the debris kicked up from Sakura's attack, are four gale wolfs charging Orochimaru as he lands. Orochimaru counters with four snakes coming out of both his sleeves and intercepting the wolfs in an explosion of snake guts and blood.

Meanwhile, Sai is using his Cartoon Beast Mimicry to create dozens of ink mice that spread out in all directions to pinpoint Sasuke's location.

Back with Naruto, as round two is about to start, Yamato and Fuu arrive, having sensed Naruto's chakra activate his seed and his clone dispelling earlier, getting Orochimaru to huff and say, "Remember, Naruto, this makes twice that I've let you live. A debt I hope you'll repay-"

Naruto cuts him off by yelling out, "Let me live my ass! You lucked out last time, and are running scared now!"

Orochimaru ignores him and disappears as he continues, "If you'll excuse me, I've got unfinished business with Sai."

Naruto says, "Pussy.", as Yamato sees Sai's pack on the ground and moves towards it.

Yamato asks as he picks up Sai's pack, "Where is Sai?", while Sakura explains to Fuu about the finished picture book she is holding.

Naruto answers in a worried tone, "Oh no! He went to look for Sasuke! We've got to get to them before Orochimaru does. Come on I'll lead the way!"

Fuu asks, after finishing her talk with Sakura about Sai's turn around, "You can tell who's chakra belongs to who now?"

Naruto explains, "Yes, after getting a close feel of Orochimaru's and Kabuto's chakra, I can tell them apart, so the only one left that I don't know must be Sasuke's."

Yamato had pulled out Sai's secret black book and opens it, causing him to say, "Oh no."

Sakura asks, "Now what's wrong?"

Yamato show them the book while explaining, "I found this in Sai's pack. This type of bingo book is standard issue for Anbu members. It lists one's targets for assassination."

Naruto asks, "Why does he have an assassination list?"

Sakura adds, "So what do the X marks represent?"

Yamato answers her, "The people he's already killed."

Fuu comments, "That's kind of impressive, if not really creepy too."

Yamato becomes shocked when he flips through the pages and runs across Sasuke's profile, saying out loud, "Look at this.", showing them the profile with Sasuke's picture in it.

Sakura can only utter, "N-No."

Naruto asks while confused, "Wait, why is Sasuke on Sai's assassination list?"

Yamato thinks out loud, "His face isn't X'ed out yet, hmnnn, so that's what this is about!"

Fuu concludes, "Then t-that means, Sai's next target is Sasuke!"

Yamato responds, "Yes, Sai's mission wasn't to become the conduit between Danzo and Orochimaru, his real top-secret mission is to assassinate Sasuke."

Naruto fires back in disbelief, "But, but that's not possible! I mean, just now he said he was going to rescue Sasuke! And I saw him smile from his heart, Sakura saw it too, I really think he's changed! Right Sakura?!"

Sakura replies solemnly, "Unless it was all just an act to draw us out."

Yamato adds to that point, "The owner of this bingo book could do it. Look at this fellow listed next to Sasuke. He's a Kirigakure Jonin who had taken a hard-line attitude toward Konoha, so Sai seems to have been assigned to dispose of individuals who pose a threat to Konoha, and Sasuke is one of those too."

Sakura responds, "A smile can help one achieve one's goal, Sai said something like that when I slugged him."

Yamato continues, "Danzo's ultimate goal is to destroy Orochimaru's future host body. That's why Sai was trying to get close to Orochimaru. They weren't going to betray Konoha, in fact, quite the opposite, it's precisely the kind of tactic the Foundation would employ."

Naruto is having a hard time accepting the fact that Sai's smile and turn around was fake. He saw it, practically felt the real joy coming from Sai's heart. Then there was the way his chakra seemed to brighten up at that moment, like good had finally shone through the empty blackness that was there before.

Naruto replies with determination, "I don't believe Sai was lying at that moment when he finished the centerfold he wanted to show his brother, but I can't deny that assassinating Sasuke was his real mission. So, I'm going to see which is the true side of Sai.", disappearing in an orange flash to the Hirashin mark he left on Sai when they captured him.

Sai has found Saskue with his ink mice and is now sending ink snakes crawling into Sasuke's bed while he watches from the crack of the open door. Sai is so focused on Sasuke, that he doesn't notice Naruto appearing behind him, out of sight from the opening in the door.

As Naruto is about to move on Sai, Sasuke speaks up, "Who's there?", getting Naruto to freeze from hearing Sasuke's voice again after so long.

Sai replies, still not noticing Naruto's presence, "My cover's been blown, but I can still take action.", Naruto waiting on baited breath, wondering if he'll have to take down Sai.

Sasuke asks, "What do you want?"

Sai answers, "I'm here to take you back to Konoha! My mission was to kill you. At first, I was going to, but I want to help protect this bond you two share, that Naruto so desperately wants to hold on to.", bringing a smile to Naruto's face, knowing that despite the evidence, he was right about Sai.

Sasuke responds, "A bond? That's your excuse for disturbing my rest?", Sasuke sits up on his bed and looks at Sai menacingly, getting Sai to quickly make his ink snakes move to bind Sasuke.

Naruto senses Sasuke's chakra flare up, getting him to quickly respond by blurring through hand-signs and slamming his hands into the ground before a large explosion covers the area, blasting a large opening to the outside.

As the entire hideout shakes and rumbles, the rest of Team Kakashi stop in searching for Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke, after he just up and teleported away without telling them where to go. Yamato having sensed his and Sai's chakra through his seeds, now knowing where to go, they rush to meet up with Naruto and Sai.

As the sound of rocks and debris are clattering about, and the smoke begins to clear, Sai groans before looking up to see a large mud wall, with toad heads and the Uzumaki clan symbol facing Sasuke, protecting him as the sun shines down on him.

Naruto comments as the wall crumbles away, "Well, Sasuke-teme, it seems you still have a real sour mood after waking up.", getting Sai to look behind him, seeing Naruto kneeling on the ground with his hands pressed flat against the ground.

Before Sasuke can respond, Sakura runs out and grabs Sai by his collar, getting him to ask, "Sakura! what're you doing?!"

Sakura yells out, "Quiet you! I'm asking the questions here! And this time, you better not lie!"

Getting interrupted by Sasuke commenting, "Well, well, well if it isn't Sakura too.", getting her to let go of Sai at recognizing his voice and looking up at him while uterring, "S-Sasuke?"

Sasuke is standing above the crater he made, looking down on Naruto, Sai, and Sakura. Sasuke has black eyes and spiky black hair with a blue tint that hang over his face as bangs. He is wearing dark blue pants, over which hangs a blue cloth that covers him from his stomach to his knees, which is secured with a purple rope belt like Orochimaru's. He complements this with a white long sleeved shirt kept open at the torso and black arm guards that cover his forearms. He also has a black seethed sword on the right side above the back of his hip going behind him.

Sasuke says, "I assume this means Kakashi's somewhere."

Yamato steps forward with Fuu trailing behind him, answering, "Sorry, but Kakashi couldn't make it. I'm here in his stead. We of Team Kakashi are here to take you back to Konoha."

Sasuke replies, "Team Kakashi, huh?"

Sai proceeds to draw this tanto, getting Sakura to yell out, "Sai! You are not still thinking of your mission?!"

Naruto was about to correct Sakura, but is stopped by Sasuke's response, "Is he my stand in? He said something about wanting to protect the bond between me and Naruto, but he looks like another weakling too."

Fuu interrupts Sakura, by clarifying, "No! I'm the new member of Team Kakashi! Sai is just a tag-a-long forced on our team! And what do you mean weakling too?!"

Sasuke answers matter-a-factly, "It's just as it sounds, you're all weak looking."

Before Fuu can explode on him, Naruto chuckles out, "Same old Teme, still thinking you're better than everyone else. Don't take it personally Fuu, and Sakura, Sai's good. I heard it myself as he first confronted Sasuke, he said just what Sasuke said he did."

Sai confirms while pointing his tanto at Sasuke, "Yes, my top-secret mission was to kill Sasuke, but I'm done following orders. From now on, I want to think for myself. I feel like Naruto can help me remember, bring back those old feelings I thought were lost. The things that were once really important to me. As for you, Sasuke, I don't really know much about you, except that Naruto and Sakura are willing to risk everything for you, to keep that special bond you all share alive, in the name of friendship. I still don't understand it fully, but I think you do Sasuke. Don't you?"

Sasuke replies coldly, "Yeah, I did. And that's exactly why I cut them off. I have different bonds now, the bond of hatred between my older brother and me. Personal ties cause confusion. Precious memories only make you weak."

Naruto steps in front of his teammates while responding, "Fine, Sasuke! Lets test your theory, which is stronger, the bond of hatred you have with your brother, or my bond of friendship with you?! I'll fight you alone, and if you win, then I give my word that I'll stop chasing after you!"

Sakura loudly protests, "Naruto! You can't just do that! You promised we'd bring Sasuke back together!"

Yamato tries to add, "Naruto I know you've gotten a lot-"

Naruto interrupts, "This is between me and Sasuke! Even if we worked together and force Sasuke back to Konoha, he'll just try to leave again! I'm going to have to prove that my way, my beliefs, our bond, is stronger than the path of hatred he's going down! Only when he realizes that and comes back home of his own accord, will we really have Sasuke back! Trust me! I'll win!"

As the others are thinking about how Naruto's right about Sasuke, and will have to put their faith in him to succeed, Sasuke lands right in front of Naruto, putting his left hand on Naruto's right shoulder while answering, "Fine, this will be quick-"

Being interrupted by Naruto's fist slamming into his gut as he lands, sending him flying back into some rubble with bang!

As Sasuke coughs up some blood and the rest of Team Kakashi is wondering how they were able to move so fast, Naruto says, "Go you guys! Keep a watch out for Orochimaru while I handle Sasuke-teme and knock some sense into him!"

Sakura wants to speak out, but Fuu beats her to the punch, "Alright Naruto! We'll make sure no one interrupts your fight, just don't take too long kicking his smug ass!"

Yamato responds, "Fine, Team Kakashi! Leave Sasuke to Naruto, and form a perimeter around their battle! We let no one inside, got that?!"

As Yamato, Fuu, and Sai move to cover the perimeter, Sakura looks at Naruto's back as he stares down at a now standing Sasuke, giving him a silent prayer of good luck, hoping this time it'll be different, and they'll both be coming back to her. Reluctantly, Sakura takes her place in guarding the perimeter, leaving just Naruto and Sasuke in the cratered remains of Sasuke's room.

Sasuke's sharingan flares open as he glares at Naruto, commenting, "So, you're fast enough to keep up with that level of speed, but that's a far cry from being in the same league as me, Dobe.", drawing his sword and rushing Naruto.

Naruto replies, "Heh, You're the one out of his league! Teme!", while releasing his Kubikiribocho and meeting Sasuke's charge.

Even though Sasuke is surprised that Naruto his welding Zabuza's blade, he still smirks when their blades collide, thinking that by streaming lightning chakra into his blade, it will cut Naruto's in two. His smirk quickly falls away as it's his blade that gets cut in two, forcing him to jump back while getting cut above his right shoulder as Naruto's blade splits the ground.

Seeing the wind chakra coating Naruto's blade, Sasuke comments, slightly irritated, "So you know how to stream your elemental chakra as well. A miscalculation on my part, I won't underestimate you any more."

Naruto responds, "That's a shame Teme, I'd prefer you to just keep acting like an arrogant ass as I beat it out of you!", while sinking his earth chakra coated blade into ground.

Seeing what Naruto is up to with his sharingan, Sasuke immediately jumps into the air to avoid dozens of stone copies of the kubikirbocho spearing out of the ground underneath his feet.

Naruto comments, "Wow! Your Sharingan was able to predict my Earth Style: Mole Stone Blades attack, huh? So, are you starting to realize that you can't just play around with me, like I'm some short of fresh genin!", while resting his blade against his shoulder.

Sasuke just humphs after landing to the right of Naruto, sheathing his broken blade and blurring through hand-signs, releasing "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu", a dragon's head fire ball is launched at Naruto, consuming him in an explosion.

Smirking in victory, Sasuke fails to notice Naruto tunneling under him until Naruto's fist collides with his jaw, as Naruto pops out of the ground with a mean left hook. Sasuke is sent reeling back into the air once again, but this time he transforms into his second state curse mark mode, his hair growing longer and greying out, a pair of hand-like wings coming out of his back and his skin darkening. Now flying out of Naruto's reach, Sasuke charges his chidori in his left hand before launching his chidori senbon at Naruto.

Naruto counters by unsealing his blade and unleashing his wind slash to destroy Sasuke's senbon and force him to dodge the wind blade coming at him.

Naruto replies, "Glad to see you're starting to take me seriously, but is that really all you got?!", pulling out a scroll and unsealing his Harishin kunai, covering the area in them.

Sasuke responds, "As if Dobe!", rushing Naruto while unleashing snakes from his right arm and charging his chidori in his left.

Naruto slices through the snakes with ease as Sasuke comes down on top of his head, trying to cut it off. Naruto jumps back, avoiding Sasuke's chidori, only for Sasuke to stream his chidori forward into a straight line, catching Naruto stuck in mid-air. As Sasuke's attack is mere millimeters from piercing him, Naruto disappears in an orange flash, and reappears behind Sasuke at one of his kunai, flinching from his vertigo, giving Sasuke enough time to sense his presence. Naruto brings his blade down on Sasuke, who dodges enough so that only one of his wings is cut off.

Just as Sasuke gets his bearings after jumping away from Naruto and losing a wing, Naruto, after resealing his blade, Hirashins again, reappearing in front of Sasuke and grabs him by his right shoulder with his left hand and places his right hand on Sasuke's torso. Sasuke responds by streaming his chidori from his whole body, electrocuting Naruto as he desperately holds on to Sasuke. Eventually, Naruto is forced to let go as he is thrown back from Sasuke's chidori stream, crashing to the ground a few feet away as Sasuke starts smirking smugly again, his superiority showing on his face in full force.

Sasuke mocks, "See, all the strength your useless bond has, while my hatred gives me more power than you could ever hope to achieve. Instead of wasting your time trying to bring me back, you should have trained more to achieve your dream to be Hokage."

Naruto laughs as he stands back up, "How could I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save my friend? Besides, don't act like you've won! The fight has only just started!", with that, eight stone pillars rise from the ground, surrounding Sasuke as sealing marks appear on the ground, forming a spiraling trigram with Sasuke in the center.

As a seal appears on Sasuke's torso, having been placed by Naruto while he was being electrocuted, it spreads across his body, forcing back his curse mark into it's point of origin on his neck. Bringing Sasuke to his knees as his curse mark is sealed away with a tetragram seal around the three tomoe on his neck.

Naruto cracks his knuckles while saying, "Now lets see how strong you are when you're not relying on Orochimaru's power!"

Sasuke demands, "What did you do me?! I can't feel the curse marks power anymore!"

Naruto answers, "You see, while you thought we were fighting, I was having eight shadow clones that I made when I was hidden underground, you know, right before I gave you that uppercut. Anyways, back on point, they were moving to eight points to form an octagon in preparation for my Eight Pillar Curse Marks Seal. The finishing touch was when I placed that signaling marker on your torso, when you were giving me a shock, it acts as an origin spot for my seal to activate. The moment you were centered inside my unseen octagon, that signaling mark triggered the pillars to trap you and begin the sealing process. I kind of came up with it on accident! I was working on a way to remove your curse mark, but I'm still missing a way to draw it's power out of your body, it mixes with your own chakra too completely for me to be able to separate them. So suppressing it was the next best thing."

Sasuke madly charges Naruto while yelling out, "Give me back my power!"

Naruto responds by using his Gale Wolf jutsu to slam a wind wolf into Sasuke, exploding on contact, shredding his left arm into pieces as he's thrown backwards. Sasuke screams in agony as Naruto slowly walks towards him, his eyes filled with heat.

Naruto darkly says, "That mark isn't your power, Sasuke! It's a means for Orochimaru to control you, and one day take your body for himself! Trust me when I say that relying on someone else's or something else's power to fight, while thinking it's your own, is wrong! It makes you weaker, in both body and mind! Slowly breaking you down until there is nothing left of who you were, turning you into a monster that'd destroy everything you love! So stop screaming like a little bitch, just because I'm making you fight with your own strength!"

Sasuke at this point has stopped moving, facedown on the ground unresponsive. Thinking that he may have overestimated Sasuke, Naruto kneels down to check on Sasuke, only for him to find an empty husk of skin! Sasuke had used Orochimaru's special art of substitution to escape from Naruto underground, having found the tunnels Naruto made with his clones for his sealing jutsu.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!", Sasuke fires from beneath Naruto, causing the ground to explode beneath him and consuming him in a massive fireball.

Sasuke's sharingan fades as exhaustion takes him, breathing hard on his hands and knees and looking at Naruto's charred body hit the ground with a splat, still burning and filling his nose with the smell of burning flesh. A swell of emotion floods his body as he feels his eyes start to burn, like a well of power was about to be unleased from them, until boom! His eyes flare open as a star patterned Mangekyo Sharingan appears in both his eyes, and unexpectedly, tears streaming down his face.

He thought that he had severed his bond with Naruto, but still, deep in his heart, just like he had always secretly admired Naruto, he was still his closest friend. The pain of killing Naruto being worse than he thought it would be, unintentionally awakening the power his brother told him about. It felt powerful, dark, and hopefully everything he'd need to kill Itachi, especially with the heavy cost, the only one he ever wanted to kill was Itachi.

As Sasuke hangs his head low with his Mangekyo Sharingan fading, the guilt and pain in his heart starts to pull him down into the pit of darkness he has been skating on. Only for him to be slammed down into the ground as a weight appears on top of his body, his neck being pinned by the half circle of the Kubikiribocho and his hands pinned by feet.

Naruto says, "Now this is a surprise! I thought you said you cut our bond, yet here you are, crying after killing me!"

Sasuke turns his head to look through one eye at Naruto, stuttering out, "N-Naruto?! H-How a-are y-you alive?!", relief entering his heart, though he'll never openly admit it.

Naruto explains, "Well, you see, I had fought Orochimaru earlier, so I already figured that you could shed your skin like he could, plus I recently gained the ability to sense chakra, so I already knew you were underneath me. After that, I just had to time the switch with my pig meat doll replacement I made, gives off the whole actual burning flesh smell, especially if it's rotten pig meat. I doubt it'd work on people as experienced as Kakashi or people with a sharp sense of smell like Kiba."

Taking a closer look at the charred remains a few feet in front of him, Sasuke sees what looks like bags of meat tied together in the shape of a person inside a pair of Naruto's clothing and a yellow wig.

Naruto continues, "I admit that I was surprised by the sudden increase in your chakra, but that still left you open for me to use the Hirashin mark I placed on you earlier to pin you down and seal off your chakra. Game over! I win!"

To emphasize his point, Naruto pushes his wind coated blade down deeper, slightly cutting the back of Sasuke's neck, while warning, "I can cut your head off in a split second if I want to, so don't try anything and just listen to me."

Sasuke replies, "What? Is this where you go on about our bond and how I need to come home? Because if it is, save it for some-"

Naruto presses down a little deeper with his blade, cutting Sasuke a little more and saying, "Shut up! JUST LISTEN!"

Sasuke bits his tongue and nods his head, signaling Naruto to get it over with.

Naruto explain, "Alright, firstly, Orochimaru is on his way here, and when he arrives, I'm going to let you go.", Sasuke looks shocked but stays quiet as Naruto continues, "But I want you to think this through first, what more can Orochimaru offer you now, eh? You've already taken everything you can from him, his jutsu, knowledge, techniques, and fighting style, but you still lost to me! Sure you can hand him your body, but we both know you never had any intention of doing that."

Naruto takes a moment to get Sasuke a knowing look before continuing, "This path of hatred has made you stronger, but some how you still lost to the "Dobe" of all people. Do you know why that is? It's because you don't have enough love in your heart! Sure you can get strong with hatred, but only if you completely give into the darkness of the world, like Orochimaru and Itachi! And you can't be like either of them! Can you?! The thought of being like your brother fills you with so much disgust that you can't do it! I know this because I'm still alive! You could have killed me the day you left, but you didn't!"

Sasuke closes his eyes while thinking back to when he left back then, and how he decided to be different than Itachi, as Naruto goes on, "Then, just now, when you thought you killed me, tears fell from your eyes as despair gripped your heart, awakening some short of new power inside you. If I had to guess, I'd say it was the Mangekyo Sharingan like Kakashi-sensei has, seeing as the chakra increase came from your eyes. You probably think that it's the evil act of killing someone you care about that awakened it, but I think it was from the painful loss of someone you love. That loss awakens that power like a silent prayer for the strength to never let it happen again."

Sasuke opens his eyes in shock at that revelation, getting Naruto to smile before furthering his point, "I have been consumed with my own hatred lately, and all that got me was hurting my loved ones, and nearly losing my own life. With the hate filled power of the Nine Tailed Fox inside me, I nearly lost myself to it's rage, but all it took to overcome all the unimaginable hatred, was love from mother. Do you get it?! Love from my dead mother was able to defeat the power of the Nine Tails! Love is the only thing that can beat hatred, the tool your brother tries to make you use! I know now, that when I become strong enough to defeat the Nine Tails, it'll only be after I have concurred my own hatred with all the love in my life. So come back to Konoha, where that love can make you stronger and keep you from becoming your brother."

Sasuke thinks about it, his disgust with being like his brother, Orochimaru's uselessness and his insane obsession with learning all the jutsu of the world, getting him to perform horrible and grotesque experiments on people. Honestly, he was going to kill Orochimaru himself when the opportunity showed it's self, no intention of handing over his body.

It's just like Naruto said, he has already learned everything he can from him, especially with his newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan. Then there's the point of possible becoming like Itachi, something he absolutely refuses to let happen! He'll never be like that murdering monster! But, he can't head back to Konoha now. Even if they don't lock him up for treason, they'll assign him to missions of their choosing! The only thing he wants to do is hunt down his brother and kill him.

Sasuke speaks up, "Sorry, but I can't go back. My mission to kill Itachi is too important, and if I go back, Konoha won't let me leave to hunt him down. I won't be kept away from the only mission that matters to me!"

Naruto pauses for a moment to think, feeling Orochimaru and Kabuto fighting with the rest of his team, knowing they'll be here soon, he offers, "Look, I'm one of the targets of the Akatsuki, so Itachi, or at least someone that has information on him will come after me. So wouldn't that be the fastest way to find him, plus it wouldn't hurt to have back up when taking him down."

Sasuke replies, "No! I'm the only one that will fight him! And there is no certainty that you'll be targeted by Itachi again. It's not worth the risk of being locked up."

Naruto sighs, then say, "Then how about this, when I let you go, you turn on Orochimaru, helping me kill him, then claim that was what you were planning to do the whole time. That defecting to Oto was an elaborate scheme to infiltrate Oto, gaining intelligence on all of their bases and Orochimaru's activities. Then when we, Team Kakashi showed up, you secretly teamed up with me to kill Konoha's biggest traitor and return to Konoha with enough intelligence to completely destroy Orochimaru's operations throughout the elemental nations. You'll be a big hero that no one will be able to deny, not even Konoha's leadership. They'll have to give into your request to hunt down your brother, and think about it, you'll have all of Konoha's intelligence gathering skills to aid you in finding Itachi."

Sasuke responds, "A good idea, but if the Hokage doesn't buy it, I'm locked in cell somewhere, or simply put on house arrest for kami knows how long."

Naruto replies, "Then if it fails, I'll use the Hirashin mark I have on you to help you escape! If you do this, you'll have everything to gain, comrades, intelligence, the entire might of Konoha to help you kill Itachi, and nothing to lose! You can just go off and try and find him on your own like you would anyways. Isn't it worth the risk to kill your brother."

Sasuke is just quiet as he thinks it over, the sound of approaching shinobi coming closer, getting Naruto to release him and unseal his chakra just before Team Kakashi arrives, a bit battered and bruised, but alive. Sasuke jumps up above them at the top of the cater, looking down at them.

Fuu says, "Sorry Naruto! We held them off for as long as we could!"

Yamato adds, "It seems you weren't able to finish your fight with Sasuke, but were you able to knock some sense into him.", while Sakura is busy with healing an injured Sai, who is littered with cuts and seems to be poisoned.

Naruto just glares at Sasuke, replying, "I'm not sure yet."

Sasuke gathers what's left of his chakra while making a hand-sign, and says, "I'm done with Konoha. Be gone!", raising his left hand up into the air.

Only to be stopped by Orochimaru grabbing his hand and commenting, "I wouldn't use that jutsu, Sasuke."

With his sharingan flaring again, Sasuke replies, "Let go."

Kabuto interrupt, a bit torn up himself, "Now, what did I tell you about being more respectful toward Lord Orochimaru?"

Sasuke asks, "Why should I stop?"

Kabuto answers, "You know that the Akatsuki's on the move. We want these Konoha shinobi to get rid of the Akatsuki for us. As many of them as possible, because if other Akatsuki members interfere, it would prevent you from getting your precious revenge."

Sasuke responds, "That's a pitiful excuse."

Kabuto asks, "Jeopardize your quest for vengeance, or increase it's chance of success, which seems the more prudent choice to you?"

Silently agreeing with a nod, Orochimaru lets go of Sasuke's hand while stating, "Bright boy."

Sasuke's eyes meet Naruto's, a brief exchange before Sasuke turns around, his chidori coated hand piercing Orochimaru's torso, followed by an orange flash and the Kubikiribocho horizontally slicing Orochimaru's head in two, right bellow his eyes that still held a look of shock as his head flew off. Sasuke's chidori paralyzed him and prevented him from using his substitution technique, so Naruto could land the finishing blow.

Kabuto yells out in utter disbelief, "Lord Orochimaru!", suddenly being forced back by Sasuke yanking out his blood soaked hand from Orochimaru's body and firing chidori senbon at him.

Kabuto yells out as he is ensnared by Yamato's wood release bindings, "Sasuke! You traitorous rat! How could you betray Lord Orochimaru?!", Naruto Hirashin's in front of him and reapplies the chakra suppression seal.

Sasuke calmly replies, "Betray? I was never loyal to him. I was just using him while planning on assassinating one of Konoha's biggest traitors. Waiting until I gained enough intelligence to cripple his operations, and for when the opportunity to kill him finally presented itself. My loyalties have always been with Konoha."

That brings surprised looks on everyone's faces, except Naruto's, getting Sakura to hopefully ask, "I-Is that really the truth, Sasuke?"

Sasuke answers with a glance, "Yes, Sakura."

Kabuto yells out, "No way that's true! You weren't assigned any black ops missions, we checked! And the hatred you carry is real, there is no faking that!"

Yamato muffles Kabuto with his wood release, before responding, "Kabuto has a point, you're not an Anbu, nor were you given a secret mission, Lady Hokage would have informed me about it. So, what's going on here."

Sasuke explains, "I'm not an Anbu and I wasn't assigned this mission. Back when I was approached by Orochimaru's men in Konoha, offering me to leave with them to receive power from Orochimaru, I wanted to report it to the Hokage, but they were still watching me, so if I went to the Hokage they'd just leave. But, if I made it look like I was thinking it over and deciding to join them of my own free will, then they'd take me to Orochimaru. Truthfully, I wanted the power, but I figured that I could also gather intelligence on the man who assassinated the Third Hokage and his operations, and eventually gaining enough strength and trust to finally assassinate him. As for my hatred, well, Kabuto's right about that, I still have much hate for my brother Itachi, but I'll kill him on my own terms, not theirs."

Sakura asks in confusion, "B-But you knocked me out and fled the village in the middle of the night. Then when a team was sent after you, they nearly got killed along the way, you even nearly killed Naruto! Why would you do that?!"

Sasuke answers, "I knocked you out so that a team wouldn't be sent, and besides, you never know who's watching, they could have been lying in wait to see how I reacted. Plus, I can't control what the Oto-nin did while I was in their coffin, so the others getting hurt was a calculated risk, but one that worked out in the end. For my fight with Naruto, well, the newly awoken second state curse mark did mess with my head a bit, but I still spared him while making it look convincing, like I said, you never know who's watching."

Naruto adds, "Then once me and Sasuke were alone, he filled me in on all of it. We made sure to make our fight look real, which it kind of was, we both wanted to see who is stronger, I won!", getting Sasuke to grunt out in annoyance.

Fuu replies happily, "Yay! I knew you could do it Naruto!", wrapping him up in a bone crushing hug.

Sakura asks, still hoping it's not a dream, "S-so you're coming back with us to Konoha?"

Sasuke nods his head and says, "Yes, but I'll probably be held for questioning once I get back, so don't expect me to be hanging around anytime soon."

Yamato just gives both Sasuke and Naruto a long hard stare, knowing that story is most likely bogus, but he can't prove it, so comments, "If what you say is true, then with Orichimaru's death, his right hand man captured, and the intelligence you have on Oto, you'll be seen as a hero that brought down one of our worse criminals. But, regardless of results, you took a very big unauthorized risk, and now your fate will lye in the hands of Lady Hokage and what she decides."

Sasuke responds, unaffected by Yamato's silent threat, "Yes, of course. I'm prepared to receive whatever punishment the Hokage decide to place on me."

Sakura replies, "I doubt it'll be anything too harsh, after all, you did just take down Orochimaru.", a smile gracing her face.

Fuu finally releases Naruto from her grip to greet Sasuke, but is stopped as Yamato starts barking out orders, "Alright everyone, listen up! Sakura, I want you to give everyone a quick check up and heal what injuries you can. Once everyone has received a clean bill of health from you, then we'll search this facility for any possible intelligence with Sasuke's guidance, while two of us will stand guard over Kabuto. Once we're done we'll head back to Konoha to give a full report to Lady Hokage! Understood?!"

Everyone replies in the affirmative and proceeds to follow Yamato's orders to the letter, all the while Yamato makes sure to keep a constant eye on Sasuke.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By: FallenDispair

Chapter: 8

I DON'T OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/12/19**

After a thorough search of the facility, which lead to no new intelligence, seeing as it was just a supply base used for training and mission prep, Team Kakashi with Sasuke, the captured Kabuto, and Orochimaru's corpse sealed inside a storage scroll, returned to Konoha via Naruto's Hirashin mark placed at the village's gate. Naruto stopped for a moment to inform the guards of the situation with Sasuke's return and secret aid in bringing down Orochimaru and gaining intelligence on Oto, knowing word will get around, giving them the support of public opinion. From there, they proceeded to escort Kabuto to the Torture and Interrogation Corp and handed him over to Ibiki Morino with instructions to let nobody but him and Lord Inochi have access to him, maximum lock down procedure.

Ibiki Morino has a large, imposing figure, which is complemented with a rugged head and face covered in scars. His head is always covered by his forehead protector to conceal a collection of burn marks, punctures holes, and long slash marks, indicative of the physical torture he has had to endure in the past. He wears a darker version of the standard uniform of the Intelligence Division, along with a black trench coat and gloves.

Ibiki replies to his orders, "Of course, with the likes of Kabuto, we'll take no chances with him. I'll place my most loyal and trusted subordinates to guard his cell while I personally sit in with him, and will allow no one to access to his cell until receiving in-person orders from Lady Hokage."

Yamato responds, "Good, we don't know who could try to get to Kabuto. The only question is whether it'll be to silence him, or to help him escape."

Ibiki nods his head in the silent understanding of Danzo's interest in Kabuto, and proceeds to escort Kabuto to his cell with a four-man squad for added security.

From there Team Kakashi heads to the Hokage Mansion with a squad of Anbu following in the shadows, whether they work for the Hokage or Danzo was the only concern they had. Fortunately, Naruto is able to sense their presence and Danzo's not stupid enough to attack them in public, so they made it to Tsunade's office unimpeded. Once inside her office, Tsunade silently ordered her personal Anbu guard to leave and once confirming that they were alone, she erected a privacy barrier. With the barrier in place, Tsunade asks for a full report of their mission in keen detail, leaving absolutely nothing out. Yamato starts giving a full debrief, stopping for Naruto, Sai, Sakura, Fuu, and eventually Sasuke, to add in on particular parts.

Tsunade sighs for a moment, before ordering, "Sakura, take this scroll containing Orochimaru's body to Shizune for an immediate autopsy. I want her to prioritize it and give me the results as soon as she's finished. Fuu and Sai, you're both dismissed, and I'll speak to Danzo about having you, Sai, continue on as apart of Team Kakashi."

Sakura takes the offered scroll while replying, "Right away Milady.", turning and leaving the office after Tsunade drops the barrier.

Fuu and Sai give their affirmative responses and follow Sakura out, shutting the door behind them as the privacy barrier is reactivated.

Tsunade's eyes narrow dangerously as she says with heat in her voice, "Now, do you three honestly expect me to believe that Uchiha Sasuke was undertaking a secret plan to take down Orochimaru and Oto?! I see through this little charade of yours Naruto! Under normal circumstances, Sasuke would be locked in a cell like Kabuto and thoroughly interrogated, with the very high possibility of being thrown into Konoha's Maximum Security Prison! Fortunately for the both of you, SOMEHOW, word has already gotten out on Sasuke's apparent undertakings in the assassination of Orochimaru, and is currently giving us the necessary intelligence to take down Oto! So now it'll be next to impossible to lock up Sasuke with out having public blowback!"

Naruto replies, "Oh come on, Baa-chan! It's not that bad-"

Tsunade interrupts loudly, "Shut it BRAT! You already saw to it that I have no choice but except your little story, but don't get cocky with me you little shits! Just because I can't throw you in a cell, doesn't mean I can't make all of your lives miserable!"

Sasuke calmly responds, "Actually, if you want the intelligence on Oto and all of Orochimaru's hidden bases, several of which are in the Land of Fire, you'll have to meet my demands."

A dangerous tick mark forms on Tsunade's forehead as she begins to shake in rage, a hairs breath from punching Sasuke's arrogant ass into dust, getting Naruto to quickly say, "Hey! Teme! That's not we agreed on! Look, Baa-chan, what the Teme means, is that it would be better if you were to accept a request for his hard work."

Yamato adds, "Lady Hokage, I know that it's very rude of Sasuke to say it that way, but it is unfortunately the truth. Swallowing our pride to take down a threat to Konoha is small price to pay, so please don't be rash."

Tsunade forcefully takes a few calming breaths, before replying, "Fine! What is your request, bit let me make this perfectly clear for you, Sasuke, it's within my power to have you tortured and KILLED instead, regardless of the blowback! I'm more than willing to lose my position as Hokage to ensure that you don't get too full of yourself, remember, I'm just as powerful as Orochimaru and can kill you just as easily!", getting Sasuke to have a chill run up his spine at the massive amount of chakra she is releasing as he looks into the hate filled eyes of Tsunade.

Sasuke knows that the only reason he was able to defeat Orochimaru with Naruto's help, was because he didn't have access to all his jutsu anymore, his current host body was starting to reject him, and he was already weakened from his previous fight with Naruto. So he is fully aware that Tsunade, a kunoichi of equal stature of Orochimaru, could kill him as he is now, plus she has the might of all the shinobi of Konoha at her disposal.

Swallowing his own pride, Sasuke responds respectfully, "Yes, of course Lady Hokage. Forgive me for my rude behavior, I apologize for any disrespect that I have shown you.", giving a light bow in the process.

Tsunade straightens her posture, delighted to have Sasuke humbling himself before her, and replies, "Apology excepted, now, what is it you'd like to request from me?"

Sasuke explains, "I'd like to be assigned to hunt down and kill Uchiha Itachi with a team of my choosing."

Tsunade narrows her eye, having expected as much, and replies, "Do you expect me to send you out of the village on a longer term hunt and destroy mission, along with several hand picked and highly skilled Konoha shinobi? You've only just returned to village and now you want to leave again, taking others with you!"

Sasuke responds, "No, I don't expect you to assign any Konoha shinobi to aid me in this mission."

Yamato asks, "Wait! Do plan on finding and defeating the likes of Itachi on your own?!"

Sasuke clarifies, "No. There are three individuals of Oto that I have chosen to be on my team, that I'll refer to as Team Hebi. I know the location of the bases they are stationed at, and would like to personally go and recruit them for Team Hebi. The remaining nine hidden bases that make up Oto can be handled any which way you want."

Naruto asks, "Why not just come back to Team Kakashi and we can hunt down Itachi together?"

Tsunade answers, "Because, there are currently two jinchuuriki on Team Kakashi, and his mission is about hunting down a member of the Akatsuki that is targeting you. There'd be no way I could sign off on a mission that'd have both you and Fuu gone from the village for an unspecified amount of time. Not to mention the fact that the recently returned Last of the Uchiha is leaving as well."

Naruto begrudgingly yields, "Fine, I can see your point, but that still doesn't explain why other Konoha shinobi can't be apart of Sasuke's team. I mean that our shinobi are more trust worthy than a bunch of Oto guys that are loyal to Orochimaru!"

Yamato replies, "Naruto does have a point. How can you be sure that you can trust these guys? They might even be inclined to kill you after hearing about you killing their master."

Sasuke answers, "Firstly, most the individuals that work for Orochimaru aren't loyal to him, in fact, a large number of them want him dead. Orochimaru uses his own people as experiments and lab rats, including two of the people I'm looking to acquire for Team Hebi. Secondly, I'm choosing them for their abilities, not their loyalties. I can handle them if they turn violent, but if they are too unresponsive to joining me, I'll let you do whatever you want with them in exchange for filling their position with a leaf shinobi of my choosing."

Tsunade orders, "First, tell me about these three individuals you want on your team, then we'll see."

Sasuke starts, "The first is Hozuki Suigetsu-"

Tsunade interrupts, "Hozuki?! As in the Hozuki clan of Kiri?!"

Sasuke answers, "Yes, that Hozuki clan, and he does have their kekkei genkai of liquefying his body at will. He was often experimented on by Orochimaru, so he'll only be upset he didn't get to kill him."

Tsunade comments, "Leave it to Orochimaru to have gotten his slimy hands on such a rare kekkei genkai barring individual."

Saskue continues, "Suigetsu is a lean-built young man of average hight, straight white hair, almond shaped purples eyes, and sharp pointed teeth. Like I said, he's can turn his body into water at will, making him exceptionally skilled in water ninjutsu and a skilled user of kenjutsu. He apparently aspires to collect all the blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, so using the fact that Naruto has the Kubikiribocho and that Kisame is known to be Itachi's partner in the Akatsuki, I can convince him to join me for the chance to take them."

Naruto responds, "The only way he gets MY Kubikiribocho is if he can beat me and take it! Otherwise, no way in hell am I giving it to him Teme!"

Sasuke replies, "That's fine by me. Even if he loses, I can still tempt him with acquiring Kisame's blade and he'll want have access to you through me, most likely to try and kill you for your blade. He's located at the underground Eastern Hideout, locked up as a test subject."

Naruto nonchalantly responds, "Whatever. It's not like he'll be able to sneak up on me anyways, and I'm certain I can beat him if you can, after all, I beat you."

Tsunade asks, "Fine, and the next one is?"

Sasuke continues, "The next member is Karin, she has crimson eyes, fair skin, and short red hair that's spiky on the right side while longer and straight on the left side of her head. She also wears a pair of brown narrow glasses, I think she keeps a serrated blade hidden in them. Most notably about her, is that her chest, neck, and arms are covered in bite marks, because of her ability to heal by letting people feed on her chakra. She also possesses a unique ability called the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, which gives her-"

Tsunade interrupts again, beating Naruto to it, "I know full well about that ability, seeing as my grandmother had an even more powerful version of that ability! Add in the healing ability through her chakra, and she can't be anyone but an Uzumaki clan survivor!", anger and surprise present in her voice.

Sasuke is surprised, asking, "She's of the Uzumaki clan?"

Naruto answers, a little anger bleeding into his voice, "Yes, just like my mother was. How and why is she working for Orochimaru?!"

Sasuke answers, "I don't know all the details, but it has to do with her surviving a war zone by using her abilities, and not wanting to return to Kusagakure. Something about her mother dying there and not wanting to share her fate, so when Orochimaru found her, she really didn't have anywhere else to go."

As Naruto's teeth grind and knuckles turn white, Tsunade demands, "Where is she now?!"

Sasuke reluctantly answers, "She's currently in charge as warden of Orochimaru's Southern Hideout. It's located on an island in the middle of the ocean and is filled with prison cells that hold Orochimaru's captives for experimentation, she apparently assists him with his experiments."

Naruto responds, "Damn it! That snake bastard not only got his hands on a member of my clan, but has also turned her into twisted monster like him!"

Yamato tries to comfort Naruto by asking, "Sasuke, could this Karin girl, have been forced to participate in the experiments?"

Sasuke answers, "I don't know for sure, but if she hadn't then she most likely would have found herself in a prison cell like the others, another test subject of his experiments. At least as a willing participant, she under goes less dangerous experiments and is given a modicum of freedom."

Tsunade comments, "It's not the best solution, but she may have just been trying to survive as best she could. Seeing as her apparent home village of Kusa was using her in a similar fashion. If that's the case, I can easily pardon her for the crimes she may have committed, on the condition that she joins the recovering Uzumaki clan. Having another kekkei genkai bearing member of your clan will help increase it's standing in the village, not mention that the children you two will have will be considered pureblood Uzumaki."

Yamato comments, "Pure blood children tend to be necessary in kekkei genkai holding clans, so as not to overly weaken their bloodline. I believe Hyuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke here are pureblood children of their clans."

Sasuke explains, "Yes I am. My mother explained it to me, that it's done between two strong kekkei genkai carrying members of the clan that have distant enough blood ties to prevent birth defects. It's a practice often used when our clan's bloodline has been diluted to the point that our kekkei genkai is appearing in only a handful of members. Fortunately, as a pureblood myself, I can have children with non-members of my clan and still have children that'll have a large chance of having sharingan, but I'll have to be selective, so as not to mix my bloodline with other kekkei genkai carrying women. There bloodline traits could interfere with mine, weakening it, but that's a concern for later."

Tsunade replies, "Yes, that's exactly why acquiring Karin is vital for the revival of the Uzumaki clan, so Naruto will be bringing her back as one of his required wives for his clan and will-"

Naruto snaps, "WAIT! Don't act like this is something you can just decide for her or me!"

Tsunade tries to explain, "Naruto, you have to under-"

Naruto interrupts, "No! I don't understand nor will I except it! Everyone in Karin's life seems to just be using her, from Kusa using her as a disposable med-pack, to Orochimaru using her as a lab-rat, and even Sasuke is trying to use her for her abilities! I won't do that her, and I won't let you either! She needs a home that will protect her, not use her! She's a person, not a object to be used as others see fit!"

Yamato is quietly thinking about his own circumstances with Orochimaru using him as lab-rat, to Danzo's attempt to make him into a weapon. It wasn't until Kakashi saved him and the Third Hokage protected him, that he was able to find actual happiness and meaning in his life.

Sasuke is indifferent, having already decided to use Karin for her abilities to track down Itachi. In Naruto's place, with an Uchiha women, he'd do whatever it took to ensure her loyalty to him, even forceful manipulation.

Tsunade just stares at Naruto breathing heavily, his anger bleeding away, before saying, "Fine, Naruto. As the Uzumaki clan leader, it's fully at your discretion to do with members of your clan as you see fit. It's even a law that was instituted on the founding of Konohagakure, so there's nothing we can do about it, but it would be ill-advised to let an Uzumaki member slip through your fingers."

Naruto takes a few more calming breaths before responding, "Hey, it's not like I'm not going to try and get Karin to join my clan, but I'm not going to force the issue. I'm going to offer her a place in the clan and our village with no strings attached, she will be free to be with whoever she wants and do what she wants, I'm not going to use her, that's all."

Yamato apologizes, "Sorry Naruto, you're right. Karin's a person, not something to be used, I more than most should have known that."

Naruto replies, "That's alright, I know you were just trying to be helpful. You're forgiven.", a smile gracing his face.

Tsunade moves things along by saying, "Alright Sasuke, Karin will be handled by Naruto, and whether or not she joins your Team Hebi will be up to her and Naruto. There will be no discussing this issue any further, unless you'd like for others to make decisions about your clan, that is?"

Sasuke replies, "Yes, I understand, but remember that I get to replace her with a Konoha-nin of my choosing if she doesn't join Team Hebi."

Tsunade nods her head before responding, "Yes. Now tell us about the final member of your team."

Sasuke explains, "His name is Jugo, he is from an unnamed clan that had mutative enzymes in their blood that causes drastic physical alterations at the cost of their mental state. He's the last of his clan, which is probably due to the fits of rage that led him to slaughter an entire village. That's also why he's often call Bipolar Jugo, for one moment he's calm and peaceful, then the next moment he's lost in a fit of murderous rage. Jugo actually has no desire to kill and approached Orochimaru in the hope of being cured of his rages. Anyways, it was from this enzyme that Orochimaru created his curse mark jutsu and is why he's being held at the Northern Hideout that holds all of Orochimaru research and experiments on the curse mark."

Tsunade replies excitedly, "Then that must be Orochimaru's main base! It'll be the most guarded and important hideout of Oto's operations. But, more than anything, this Jugo individual must be retrieved at all costs! Describe him to me, what does he look like?"

Sasuke answers, somewhat concerned she'll poach Jugo herself, "Jugo is a tall, muscular young man who has spiky orange hair, red-orange eyes and a usually calm disposition. However, when affected by his murderous side, his skin turns dark, his irises become a pale yellow while his sclera turn black, and he grows various weapons and appendages."

Yamato comments, "With Orochimaru's research and Jugo, we could find away to remove the curse mark!"

Tsunade adds, "We can see to it that Jugo joins us by offering to continue looking for a cure to his problem."

Sasuke asks, rather irritated, "Are you going to take Jugo from my team as well?!"

Tsunade answers, "Relax, with Orochimaru's research and after extracting these enzymes from Jugo's blood, we can work on removing the curse mark and look for a cure for Jugo, so you can still have him for your team."

Sasuke replies, "Good. Now, will you accept my request?"

Tsunade folds her hands in front of her face as she thinks, before answering, "Fine, I'll grant your request, but it'll take some time to form teams for a coordinated simultaneous attack on these three main hideouts. Then there is a lot of paperwork for you to fill out, including a full debrief on the last three years of your activities, and to reinstate your status as a Konoha shinobi, plus several meetings with the Jonin Council, Clan Council, and the village elders."

Sasuke becomes even more irritated as he asks, "How long will that take? I don't have to tell you that as soon as word gets out that Orochimaru has been killed, people will begin to leave all of his hideouts, including the three I told you about!"

Naruto asks, "How long will it take for word to get around about Orochimaru's death?"

Tsunade answers, "Well, thanks to you leaking the story to the public, it won't take long! Fortunately, word has only spread inside our village and I've already put a gag order into effect. We'll be keeping all civilians, merchants, and visitors contained in the village 'til further notice, and will be going through all messages and packages leaving the village. That should give us about a month before word gets out. Sasuke, as for how long it'll take, well, I'd say about two weeks to finish the meetings and debrief, plus an additional week to have a plan of action to move on the three hideouts you seek. After acquiring your team, it'll then take at least another week to process them and officially send you out on your mission to hunt down Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke complains, "Three weeks just to move on those three hideouts! Then another week of just sitting around, stewing in bureaucracy! A whole wasted month of doing nothing!"

Yamato warns, "You could always be locked up and sit in a cell for years, doing nothing!"

Naruto placates, "Relax Sasuke. Sure the paperwork and meetings are going to suck, but you'll still get what you want with aid from Konoha. Plus, you just awakened your Mangekyo Sharingan, use this time to hone it with Kakashi-sensei, he has it too, so he can help you get stronger."

Sasuke yields, knowing he'd have been spending about another month just training with Orochimaru if he hadn't killed him, so there really isn't any loss of time. Nodding his head in acceptance of the situation, Tsunade proceeds to declare Team Kakashi's mission a success and gives them orders to rest, train, and prepare for when they are ready to move on the three hideouts. Dismissing Naruto and Yamato, Tsunade begins the work of debriefing Sasuke and reinstating him, wishing she could call in Shizune to help, but at least she had a lot of the prep work out of the way, knowing Naruto would succeed.

Inside the underground facility that houses the Foundation is Sai, kneeling before Danzo, giving him a full report of what happened, getting Danzo to say, "It's unlike you to fail a mission, but seeing as Orochimaru is dead, Kabuto's been captured, and Uchiha Sasuke is now back in Konoha, where I can keep a watchful eye on him, I'd say everything worked out even better than if you had succeeded in assassinating Sasuke."

Sai replies, "It was just fortunate that Uchiha Sasuke was loyal to Konoha and was planning to assassinate Orochimaru all along."

Danzo scolds, "Don't fall for such an obvious lie, Sai. Uchiha Sasuke only turned on Orochimaru when the odds were against him, he'll betray our village again if the opportunity for power ever presents itself, I guarantee you as much. But either way, well done Sai."

Sai asks, "If I may make a request?"

Danzo asks, rather confused, no Root agent has ever ask for anything, "A request?"

Sai replies, "Yes, I would like to keep this name, Sai, and stay with Team Kakashi a little while longer.", smiling at the end of his request.

Danzo is taken back by the real smile on Sai's face, before answering, "Tsunade has also approached me about this. But understand this, Sai, emotions generate hatred, and hatred breeds conflict."

Sai's smile falls as he thinks about Sasuke's words on hatred, and replies, "That may be true.", but continues to think how Naruto was able to bring back Sasuke and his words on bonds that can't be broken. Which sinks in, along with the understanding of the word comrade, as he later meets up with Team Kakashi to celebrate their mission's success and Sasuke's return to the village, though Sasuke couldn't join due to hours of endless paperwork to fill out.

The next day, after Naruto's usual morning routine of waking up, showering with Fuu, well sex in the shower then eventually showering, getting dressed, breakfast, and then heading out to meet the day, Naruto and Fuu meet up with Sakura and Sai at the hospital to see Kakashi.

As they are walking down the hall towards Kakashi's room, Sakura asks, "Hey, Naruto. Do you know if Sasuke-kun is going to be joining us for this meeting with Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato?"

Naruto answers while scratching the back of his head, "Well, you see, Sasuke apparently is going to be busy with a lot of reinstatement paperwork, then he probably had to clean up his place in the Uchiha district that's been unoccupied of almost three years! It must have taken him all night to clean it up, plus from the way Baa-chan explained it, he'll end up doing more paperwork for several days, possibly two weeks. So most likely not."

Fuu replies as Sakura become downcast, having not spent much time with her Sasuke-kun, "Man that sounds really boring! I'm glad I didn't have to do that when I joined Konoha."

Sai explains, "Well, you were being added as a new addition to our forces, one that we really wanted, so the paperwork was mostly done on your behalf. Sasuke, on the other hand, was a Konoha-nin that defected to Oto and is now returning to Konoha, stating that what he did was all just a ploy, even if that's true, he still has to answer to many levels of Konoha's security. In short, they're putting him through the wringer to make sure what he says is true, and that he's not really a traitor to our village."

Fuu responds, "I get it, he's an apparent traitor that came back home, while I was an invited outsider that was brought into the fold. So I'm more trustworthy?"

Sai answers, "Yes, short of, you are considered less of a security risk than Sasuke, but that doesn't mean we're just letting you walk about our village unsupervised."

Naruto chimes in, "Yeah, I didn't really notice before, but with my new sensory ability I can sense some strong shinobi following us, but only when I'm with Fuu."

Sakura decides to be involved and explains, "They are hand selected Anbu from Lady Tsunade's assigned Anbu. It might seem harsh, but there was always the chance that your story was faked and that you were a spy for Taki."

Fuu asks despondently, "So I'm always going to be watched as if I'm some short of outsider?"

Sakura quickly responds, "What?! NO! Trust me, by now you have our trust, including Lady Tsunade's. It just a formality at this point, they'll most likely be pulled from watching you soon and reassigned, most likely joining the Anbu that are currently watching Sasuke."

Naruto wraps his right arm around Fuu by her hip and pulls her closer to him, while saying, "See Fuu, they're going to be doing the same to Sasuke-teme too! Plus they'll stop spying on you all the time-Wait! All the time! Does that also mean when we've been, you know, having sex!"

Fuu puts her right index finger on her cheek while answering nonchalantly, "Yeah, I guess so. We have be having a lot of sex in the village, and not always indoors."

Sakura becomes enraged as she yells out, "What?! You two perverts don't even have the decency to do THAT behind closed doors! Whats wrong with you?!"

Naruto franticly tries to explain, "H-Hey, it's that sometime Fuu won't take no for an answer and well, it's just that-"

Sakura interrupts, "I don't care what your reason is! What you do and with who is none of my business, so long as you stop doing it in public! That's illegal! Got it?!"

Naruto and Fuu hang their heads in shame as they reply at the same time, "Yes ma'am. We won't do it again, we're sorry."

Sakura replies, "Good, now lets just pretend we never had this conversation."

Sai responds, "Then wouldn't that mean that Naruto and Fuu could pretend that you didn't scold them, and can keep having sex in public?"

Fuu almost becomes overjoyed, but is quickly silenced by Sakura's fiery eyes that promise pain to anyone dumb enough to agree with Sai, who immediately shuts up and asks everyone to forget what he said, and that they have arrived at Kakashi's room.

As Naruto reaches to pulls open the door to Kakashi's room, it flies open as a fairly tall woman who has a slender frame; light brown pupil-less eyes; violet hair in a short, spiky, fanned ponytail, exits Kakashi's room. She is wearing a fitted mesh body suit that covers her from her neck down to her thighs, which is under a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, pale grey shin guards. In addition to the typical Konoha forehead protector, she's also wearing a small pendant that looks like a snake fang and a wristwatch.

Looking at the woman in front of him, Naruto yells out in surprise, "Hey! You're that crazy proctor lady from the Chunin Exams! What are doing here?!"

Sakura elbows Naruto in the ribs as she harshly whispers to him, "Her name is Mitarashi Anko and she happens to be one of our villages most accomplished kunoichi, Baka!"

Anko corrects Sakura, "No, I'm one the most accomplished and the SEXIEST kunoichi in Konoha!"

Fuu replies, "You most definitely are!", eyeing Anko up and down.

That brings blushes to Naruto's and Sakura's faces, a confused look to Sai's face, and Anko to proudly respond, "Damn straight missy! I like your style, but I'm afraid that I've already tired the whole girl on girl thing, it was fun, but not to be! I'm strictly into men and my sexy self is off the market, sorry!"

Naruto breaths a sigh of relief, not wanting to get mixed up with that bag of crazy, as Fuu pouts at missing out on another babe.

Sai asks, breaking the awkwardness, "So what are you doing in Kakashi's room?"

Anko gives a bird ate the canary grin as she answers, "Well, I was returning a book he let me barrow, a book that's given me a lot of ideas on what positions for us to try once he's better."

Getting it right away, Sakura stutters out, "W-Wait a m-minute! Y-Your the w-woman K-Kakashi-sensei is seeing!", Naruto who just then gets it, just drops his jaw in shock.

Anko, while still grinning, answers, "Yup, but we do a lot more than just look at each other, which don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy looking at Kakashi's naked behind, but why just look when you can touch!", she breaks into laughter as Sakura's face turns crimson.

Fuu happily responds, "That's great! Kakashi-sensei looked like he could use a good lay!", making Anko laugh louder.

Naruto yells out, "Please stop! I don't want to know about Kakashi-sensei's sex life! It's bad enough that everybody knows about mine! Let me live in at least a little bit of normalcy!", Naruto had never thought of Kakashi as person who does that kind of stuff, to him, it's like hearing about your parents doing it.

Sakura agrees, "Yeah, Naruto makes a point, and I'm sick and tired of hearing about peoples sex life! What ever happened to common decency?!"

Anko responds in a tone of mixed humor and seriousness, "Look here, Pinky! The surprisingly studly Gaki, is at least living his life, though not necessarily normal, but normal is overrated anyways! Our lives a shinobi tend to be short lived, so remove that over sized stick out your ass and start living! Sex isn't something to be ashamed of, it's what makes life so enjoyable, in my humble opinion! Instead of be angry at others that are putting themselves out there, join them!"

Sakura heatedly replies, "Join them! What?! I'm just suppose to spread my legs and join Naruto's little harem!"

Fuu chimes in loudly, "Sweet merciful Kami YES!"

Naruto scolds loudly, "FUU! That's not what she meant! Stop thinking with your libido!"

Anko laughs as Sakura seems ready to explode in rage, getting Anko to clarify, "Relax Pinky. Gaki is right, I'm not telling who to screw, just to do it! Find a guy you like and actually try having some fun, and if he turns out to be the one, then good for you! But, if he isn't, just kick his ass to the curb and search for the next guy, or gal, whatever floats your boat. What I'm trying to tell you, is that instead of standing around judging others, go out and find your happiness! You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you can find, sure you might run into heartache, but how do you expect to find that one person that completes you if don't go looking?!"

Sakura is surprised to hear such wisdom from Anko, considering she's almost just like Naruto, getting her to respond in uncertainty, "I-I don't know. I-I can't j-just-"

Anko suggests, "Look, it's common knowledge that you have the hot's for the Uchiha emo duck-head, so give it try with him, he's back now right? See if it works or not, either way, you'll at least know and can go from there, living instead of standing and watching."

Sakura replies with a blush, "B-But Sasuke-kun is just so, you know, and he's most likely planning to do the same thing as Naruto. I don't want that, I think? It's just so confusing with him and, uh, well,-", peeking at Naruto through the sides of her eyes, getting Anko to understand.

Anko scratches the side of her head as she thinks, before responding, "Well, that certainly is a conundrum, but I think that seeing as you've been around one of them and still haven't figured it out, you should talk to the other one and see if that helps you decide. Still, either way, you have to get up and act! Woman up damn it! You're a kunoichi, aren't you?!"

That gets Sakura to drop her head in shame, being too afraid to act isn't something any kunoichi or woman worth their name should do. Nodding, Sakura says, "Thank you Anko-sensei. I'll try to pull it together."

Anko blushes at the praise, not use to it from people she doesn't know personally, hell, some of her friends thinks she's a little crazy, she responds, "You don't have to thank me, I just told you some common sense stuff."

Thankfully saving Anko from becoming embarrassed, Kurenai says from behind Team Kakashi, "Hey, Anko, it's time for my appointment. Are you done with your little errand?"

Turning around at the new voice, all of Team Kakashi looks at Kurenai, who looks the same as when Naruto last saw her, getting Naruto happily ask, "Hey Kurenai-sensei, what are you doing here? Are you visiting Kakashi-sensei too?"

Sai replies, "No, Naruto, that can't be it. She just said that it's time for her appointment, meaning she's here seeing a doctor."

Sakura asks in medical concern, "Are you alright Kurenai-sensei? Are you injured, or not feeling well?"

Fuu comments, "Of course she's hurt. Why else would anyone see a doctor? I hope you feel better Kurenai-san. Oh! I'm Fuu by the way, nice to meet you!", joyously waving at Kurenai.

Kurenai responds, rather unsure how to with how she was suddenly bombarded by questions and comments, "Uh, it's nice to meet you Fuu, and uh, the reason I'm here is a private matter that I'm not going to share with you kids."

Naruto feels something odd, so starts concentrating on Kurenai as Anko speaks up, "All right kidos, you heard the lady, it's none of your business! Now we got to go, so move aside!"

After Anko moves past Team Kakashi and joins Kurenai to leave, Naruto asks out loud, "Huh, that's strange? I wonder what it could be?"

Sakura asks, "What is it Naruto?"

Naruto answers while crossing his arms and tilting his head to the right, "Well, it's just I feel this tiny, almost unperceivable really, chakra coming from Kurenai's stomach. Does she have a parasite or something?", getting both Anko and more noticeably Kurenai to stiffen.

Sai just says, "Oh!", getting it's meaning.

Fuu happily claps her hands together as she says, "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

Naruto just starts looking back and forth from Fuu and Sai to Anko and the increasingly blushing Kurenai in confusion, asking, "Huh?! Happy about what?!"

Sakura smacks her forehead as she mutters out in frustration at Naruto's ignorance, "Baka! How can you not get it!"

Naruto asks again in increased frustration, "Not get what?! What does it mean?!"

Anko fails to hold in her laughter and says, "Ha-ha-ha-ha! Kami Gaki, you're dumb!"

Naruto yells back, "Hey! I'm not stupid! I just don't know what it means! And by the way, I sense the same thing from you too!"

That gets Anko to immediately grab her stomach and shout out, "What?! I know that Kurenai is most likely pregnant, but how the hell am I?! That can't be!", getting even Kakashi, who's been listening the whole time with Yamato from inside his room, to begin to sweat profusely.

Kurenai snaps, "Anko! You just told them!"

Anko fires back, "So what! You were at least expecting to be knocked up by Asuma, but I'm being blindsided here! I'm not ready to start popping out little brats yet!", unintentionally giving away Asuma's involvement in Kurenai's condition.

Naruto, after finally getting it, corrects Anko, "Uh, well, Anko, you see, the feeling I get from you comes from your neck and actually feels similar to Orochimaru's chakra."

Anko turns bright red as she begins to shake in rage, before grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his jacket and yells in his face, "YOU LITTLE SHIT, THAT'S JUST MY CURSE MARK! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! I SHOULD KILL YOU FOR GIVING ME SUCH A SCARE!", shaking him viciously.

Naruto chokes out while still being shaken, "I-am-so-sorry! Please-forgive-me! I-can-make-it-up-to-you! I-can-seal-up-your-curse-mark-so-that-it-no-longer-bothers-you!", getting one word out at a time.

That gets Anko to stop shaking him, giving him a hard stare, she asks, "You can do what?!"

Naruto takes a moment to unrattle his head, then answers, "I have a sealing jutsu that can completely block out the effects of Orochimaru's curse mark. I used it successfully on Sasuke and it was able to revert even his second state curse mark form, so it should have no problem sealing up what appears to be your level one curse mark."

Anko warns, "If your lying to me, you'll wish that I had just killed you! Understand?!"

Naruto nods his head and responds, "Yup, got it! So, when do you want me to seal it up? It'll only take a few minutes and cause you some pain, but other than that I can do it anytime."

Sakura chimes in, "Um, Naruto, we actually have a team meeting to go to right now, so you'll have to wait a bit first."

Anko adds, "That's alright, I have to fill in for Asuma, seeing as he's still on a mission, by supporting Kurenai as she gets the results of her blood test to see if she's really pregnant."

Kurenai scolds, "Anko, that's suppose to be a secret! Remember?!"

Anko just scoff, "Oh yeah! The big secret that Gaki here already announced to the whole village! Sure I'm sorry for letting it slip! But isn't it a bit redundant to get the results after Gaki just confirmed it?"

Kurenai replies, "I'd prefer it to be confirmed by a medical expert and not some kid with sensory abilities that he apparently doesn't now how to use all that well."

Anko shrugs her shoulders as Naruto grips at being disrespected, while replying, "Whatever, it's your love baby not mine, thank Kami! So, Gaki, I'll see you at the entrance of training ground forty-four, were you took the exams, in one hour. Don't be late or I'll skin you alive!", walking away with Kurenai.

Naruto just pouts and mumbles, "How was I suppose to know that what I felt was a baby, and that it was suppose to be a secret?"

Sakura just shrugs him off and enters Kakashi's room as Sai says, "Come on Naruto, the meetings about to start.", following after Sakura.

Fuu grabs Naruto by his left arm and pulls him with her into Kakashi's room, while commenting, "Well, at least you know now, and it seems like your sensory ability has gotten better, so it's not all bad news."

After Naruto is dragged in and having closed the door, the bedridden Kakashi, who's shitting up in a sleeveless shirt and his mask, keeping his left eye closed, says, "Alright, now that everyone is here, we can start. Yamato has already informed me of everything that happened, so good work everyone." giving his classic eye-smile.

Noticing that Kakashi has his new book again, Sakura playfully comments, "And good work on getting your book back from your GIRLFRIEND, Kakashi-sensei. She said that she really enjoyed it, but as a doctor, I'd have to recommend that you refrain from doing any of the ideas that she got from that book until you've fully recovered.", proving she can play around with Kakashi just like Anko did her.

Naruto and Fuu snicker with Sakura as Sai studies the social event, while Kakashi and Yamato blush from embarrassment.

Kakashi replies, "Thank you for the medical advice Sakura, but lets not waste time on my personal life, we have more important business to discuss."

Yamato coughs before taking over, "Yes, Kakashi-sempai is right. In about three weeks we are all expected to participate in a strategic strike on Oto's hideouts, provided by Sasuke. Then there is the Akatsuki, they've been too quiet since the incident with Suna's Kazekage. They must be reeling from the loss of two more of their members, but it's only a matter of time before they start moving again."

Kakashi continues, "Which is why I've called you all here today. For the next two to three weeks Team Kakashi, as well as other hand picked teams, are being held back from taking any missions."

Sai asks as Naruto and Fuu are starting to complain how boring it's going to be, "What are we going to be doing in the meantime? I can understand holding us back to ensure we're available for the operation against Oto, but it'd be ill-advised to just sit on our hands."

Naruto chimes in, "Not to mention boring as hell!"

Kakashi clarifies with a chuckle, having expected Naruto's reaction, "You're going to be training, after all, no shinobi worth their name will stop seeking to improve themselves. With this abundance of time, there is no better chance for you all to improve yourselves"

Sakura asks, "Ok, what are we going to be training on, Kakashi-sensei?"

Fuu comments, "I hope it's learning a bunch of new ninjutsu!"

Kakashi explains, "I've talked it over with Yamato, going over each of your strengths and weaknesses, and have come up with individual training regiments. Fuu, your base skills are strong, along with your taijutsu and unique abilities as a jinchuuriki, but, you have very little ninjutsu or genjutsu under your belt. So, Yamato is going to be teaching you elemental jutsu based on which chakra nature you have, and seeing if you are capable of learning any genjutsu."

Fuu happily replies, "Awesome! I can't wait to get started!"

Kakashi smiles at Fuu's enthusiasm, before continuing, "Sakura, you'll be joining Fuu in learning elemental jutsu, I want you to pick up some defensive techniques, as our only medic it's best if you can better defend yourself. Hopefully you'll have Earth chakra nature, seeing as it's the element best used in defensive arts. On top of that, I'll be seeing to increasing your speed, a shinobi needs to be more well rounded physically, you can't just rely on your strength in battle."

Sakura nods her as she comments, "Sure thing, but I've been given extra shifts at the hospital, so I won't be able to train everyday like Fuu can."

Yamato responds, "That's alright, just give it your all when can. We figured you might get assigned to more hospital work, we'll work around your schedule as best we can."

Kakashi moves on, "Sai, your fighting style is unique, but based off of mid to long range combat, so we're going to work on enhancing your taijutsu. Plus, being from the Foundation, you're use to fighting alone, relying only on your own strength, so we're going to teach you how to support others with your ink creations. Basically, you are to build up your close combat abilities and teamwork skills."

Sai replies, "Yes, Kakashi-sensei, I'll do my best."

Naruto impatiently asks, "Alright! Alright! What am I going to learn?! Pick up another chakra nature?! Stronger ninjutsu?! Huh, huh, What?!"

Yamato responds, "Relax Naruto! First off, have you been to that shrine your mother told you about?"

Naruto blanks out for a bit, having completely forgotten about it, before answering, "Ah, no. I kind of forgot about it.", bashfully rubbing the back of his head.

Sakura scolds him, "Naruto! It's a piece of your clans history! How can you have forgotten about it in just two days?!"

Fuu adds, "Not to mention the Uzumaki clan sealing jutsu hidden away inside it!"

Naruto smacks himself in the forehead and says, "Crap! There's a whole bunch of badass family sealing jutsu I can be learning! I need to go!"

Kakashi stops Naruto by saying, "Stop for a minute Naruto. Your mother told you to not even try to use them until your sealing technique was on par with Lord Jiraiya's, so you'll have to first increase your skills in sealing jutsu. They can wait until then, so I want you to focus on other things until then. Understand?"

Naruto slumps as he replies despondently, "Yeah, yeah, Kakashi-sensei. I get it, I'll focus on increasing my sealing justu skills."

Kakashi eye-smiles as he responds, "Good, but I did say we'd be doing other things too."

Naruto perks right back up and say, "Yes! What is it?! Please let it be awesome!"

Kakashi explains, "Well, like I said earlier, I want you to use your shadow clone method of training to work on furthering your sealing skills while splitting them up to also train on getting a solid handle on your sensory ability. But I only want to use about half the clones you can make to do that, while the remaining clones and yourself will work on creating a new jutsu, the rasengan."

Naruto shouts out, "The RASENGAN isn't a new jutsu! I already know how to use it! Stop messing with me Kakashi-sensei or I'll get Anko to give me dirt on your guy's relationship and spread it all over Konoha. No! Better yet, I'll just tell Ino!"

Kakashi practically gags in the horror, Ino can spread a rumor faster than a plague, and the things he and Anko have done are, well, just something that shouldn't be publicized, ever!

Kakashi quickly explains, "Whoa now, Naruto! There's no reason to do something THAT drastic! Look, the rasengan is actually an incomplete jutsu!"

It surprises everyone that the second most famous jutsu of the Fourth Hokage is actually an incomplete jutsu, getting Naruto to ask, "What?! How's that possible?!"

Kakashi explains, "The rasengan is the change of chakra form to it's highest degree which is why as it is, it's an A-rank jutsu, but the Fourth Hokage, your father Naruto, always intended to add his own change in chakra nature to the rasengan when he invented it."

Naruto asks in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Yamato explains, "Listen closely, by adding a change in form on top of a change in chakra nature, you can raise your attack strength exponentially. Shinobi who can perform both simultaneously are uncommon."

Kakashi takes over, "Take my chidori as an example, that jutsu requires not just changing my chakra nature to lightning, but I must change my chakra form as well so it'll discharge, and I can set it's range of action and power level. In that regard, the rasengan is different from the chidori, because it only involves a change in form."

Sakura chimes in, understanding where they're heading to, "And with Naruto already having mastered both the rasengan and change in chakra nature, he already has what he needs to complete the jutsu!"

Fuu comments, "Then Naruto will have it down in no time!"

Naruto is about to agree with Fuu, but is stopped as Kakashi says, "If that really were the case then the Fourth Hokage would have finished the rasengan himself, or I wouldn't have had to invent the chidori.", raising his right arm, Kakashi makes the rasengan.

Naruto comments in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei! I didn't know you could create the rasengan?!"

Kakashi explains, "Just like your father and Lord Jiraiya, I wasn't able to combine the rasengan's change in form with a change in chakra nature to lightning.", getting shocked looks from everyone but Kakashi and Yamato.

Yamato adds, "Combining a change in nature with a change in form takes incredible skill or rather, natural talent and intuition.", as Kakashi lets his rasengan dissipate.

Kakashi continues, "Mastering any change in form is already an A-ranked level of difficulty, but I can still manage to copy it. The next step, however is the problem, the jutsu you're aiming for is an S-ranked level of difficulty, or possibly beyond. It might even be unachievable, seeing as shinobi as talented as the Fourth and Jiraiya couldn't do it. So, there's nothing about it you can be taught. You're going to have to discover it all yourself. Do you understand why I'm telling you all this, Naruto? It's because I truly believe that you're the only shinobi that can surpass your father, The Fourth Hokage."

Naruto blushes as he scratches the back of his head and Yamato adds, "So, in short, as I focus on training Sakura, Fuu, and Sai, you'll be training yourself with Kakashi over seeing your progress. Now, lets go so that Kakashi can be discharged and we can get started on your new training regiments."

Naruto boastfully says as they make their way out of the hospital, "Ha! Just you wait, I'll complete my father's jutsu in no time! Ya know!"

Fuu cheers, "Yah! You can do it Naruto-kun! And just you wait, I'll be stronger too in no time as well!"

Sai dampens Naruto's hype by reminding him, "Well, it's going to have to wait until you keep your promise to Anko, otherwise she'll, and I quote, skin you alive."

Naruto quickly looks at the time and yells out, "Shit! I only have twenty minutes to get all the way to training ground forty-four before she skins me! And I can't remember exactly which gate she meant, there are like fifty different entrances to that damn forest!", running off in the hopes of keeping his skin.

After filling the area around training ground forty-four with shadow clones, Naruto was able to find the entrance with Anko waiting for him, getting her to comment almost disappointedly, "Humph, you made it in time with three whole seconds to spare. Damn! I wanted to tryout a new skinning method I was toying with!"

Naruto points at Anko and says in an accusing tone, "You wanted me to be late! That's why you chose this place with an ass load of entrances and were so vague about which one to meet up at!"

Anko just waves him off nonchalantly while replying, "Now, now, that wasn't what I was hoping to- I mean, I have no idea you're talking about."

Naruto deadpans, "Uh huh, sure. And I don't want to be Hokage.", getting Anko to scratch the back of her head as she nervously chuckles.

Anko coughs into hand and gets back on point, "Anyways, isn't there a curse mark you should be sealing up, or were you lying to me Gaki? Because I can always go back to whole skinning thing!", her voice turning sinister at the end as she holds up a kunai.

Naruto raises his hands up in front of himself and placates, "Nope! I wasn't lying! I swear to the ramen Kami above! Just give me a few minutes to set it up and we'll be done in no time!", getting Anko to reluctantly put away her kunai.

As Naruto creates eight clones that move around them, forming a circle, Anko asks, "So, Gaki, how is this sealing jutsu suppose to work?", Naruto's clones now making stone pillars rise out of the ground with sealing markings.

Naruto explains, "Well, this sealing jutsu is based off the Tetragram seal I used to strengthen the Trigram seal that contains the Nine Tails, but I had played with it in the attempt to remove the curse mark from Sasuke. It just never seemed to come out right, I'm still missing what it is that's been added to Orochimaru's chakra in the curse mark to be able to remove it. But I was able to find a way to confine it into it's point of origin by tracing the flow of Orochimaru's altered chakra and using the Tetragram seal to capture all of it that's spread out through your body. I call it the Eight Pillar Curse Mark's Seal."

Anko asks, still unsure of Naruto's sealing ability, "And you're sure it'll work? I mean, how do you even know that about the curse mark? This isn't the first time you've used it on someone, right?"

Naruto answers confidently, "Hey! Relax! I've done this before on Sasuke and he turned out okay, remember. I know about the workings of the curse mark thanks to Pervy Sage's spy network and the autopsy reports from Baa-chan on the Oto-nin that we killed three years ago, but I only confirmed it when I sealed up Sasuke's curse mark."

Anko feels better knowing that Sasuke was his guinea pig for his jutsu and not her, so gives him the okay to continue, but curiously asks, "Wait a minute? How is it that you're so dense that you don't get the subtle hints of Kurenai's pregnancy, but are capable of using sealing jutsu, one of the most complex arts out there?!"

Naruto stops to ponder the question, having never thought about how easy it is for him to understand and even create sealing jutsu, that is often referred to has an overly complex and difficult technique. Jiraiya has constantly been impressed with his success in the sealing arts, saying that he was more than twice his age when he was able to master the sealing jutsu Naruto has.

After thinking about it, Naruto gives the best guess as to why, "I guess that sealing jutsu isn't about being smart or anything like that, from what I can tell from it, it's more about a way of thinking. Uh, this hard to put into words. Uh, my experience with sealing jutsu has more to do with thinking out of the box and from multiply angles at once. Not like how Shikamaru thinks up a thousand odd moves ahead, like in shogi, but more like thinking fast and adjusting to sudden and even unsuspecting moves. When building a seal you have to start with a general idea of what you want and what formula to use, but from there things begin to rapidly change based on chakra levels, type, current flow, environment, and a bunch of complex stuff I don't fully understand, but I have this intuition on what's happening in a seal and how to counter it. Might have to do with being an Uzumaki. What goes through my head as I make a seal is like rapid fire changing of thought, grab this-then that-plus add this-turn that around- tighten that up-go left-right-up-down-around, quick switching until it all comes together in a solid seal."

Anko replies after trying to keep up with the thousand mile a minute talk at the end, "Ah. Sounds like a headache waiting to happen to me, and that you just get lucky when using sealing jutsu."

Naruto groans and tries to explain it differently, "The way pervy sage said it is for him and most others, is that they write out exactly what they need the seal to do and then build the formula around that, piece by agonizing piece, until they have it memorized. So the smarter you are the better, but for people like me and most of the Uzumaki clan, it's like quickly scribbling it down and rapidly piecing the formula together as we go, having a natural intuition that gets it right. Like how some people are just better a drawing, like Sai; how some are just natural born medics like Sakura; and how you just have a knack at torturing people."

Anko responds in an ah-ha moment, "Oh, it's just one of those freaky things that click inside some people, but not others! Got it! Man Gaki, you suck at explaining things."

Naruto grumbles out, "Whatever, you ungrateful crazy snake lady."

Anko dangerously asks, "What was that Gaki?! I didn't quite hear you!"

Naruto, in sensing the danger in repeating himself, changes subjects, "Ah, I just said that I need to get a look at your curse mark to see what current seal is being used on it."

Anko responds, "No need, I don't have any seal on it."

Naruto is flabbergasted at that and remarks, "What?! Why not?! Old man Third could have sealed it up, or even Kakashi-sensei, sure not as well as I can now, but still, it would have been better than nothing!"

Anko explains, "Well, I never saw the need, seeing as how it was inert until Orochimaru activated it during the chunin exams. It honestly doesn't bother me most of the time, just when I'm near Orochimaru or when my chakra has fallen really low, like it senses when my will is weak and tries to take over. Beside, the evil sealing method they would have tried isn't worth the shit it's made of!"

Naruto asks in response, "Then why do you want me to seal it up now?"

Anko blushes a little, before saying, "Well, things are different for me now. Like being in a serious relationship for the first time in my life. Before, I didn't care about it, that fighting it back was like kicking Orochimaru in the nuts. I enjoyed proving that my will is stronger than his, but now with him dead, there's no more point. P-Plus, well, you see, I actually don't mind, eventually, popping out a brat with Kakashi, and I don't want to risk that snake's curse mark effecting it, alright! And if you EVER repeat that to ANYONE I will KILL YOU in the most grotesque, gruesome, and painful way I can! GOT THAT GAKI?!"

Naruto just nods his head as fast as he can, while trying not to piss himself from the pure malice coming off Anko at that moment!

Anko puts on her creepily sweet smile as she replies, "Good, good. Now get to work and seal up this crap!"

Naruto proceeds to use his Eight Pillar Curse Mark's Seal to place a Tetragram seal on Anko's curse mark while she just grits her teeth, like it was just a minor inconvenience. Once it was over, and the pillars sunk back into the ground with Naruto's clone disappearing, Anko just rubs her newly sealed curse mark.

Naruto comments, "Well, that went perfectly! Your curse mark won't be a problem anymore, I promise!"

Anko pops her neck as she replies, "Good, because if you had messed it up, I'd be skinning you alive right now. Huh, too bad!"

Naruto deadpans, "Thanks for the compliment Anko-san."

Anko responds with her classic smile, "Your welcome Gaki!"

Naruto decides to ask while he can, "Hey, Anko? How did you and Kakashi-sensei end up together?"

Anko replies, "Hmm, lets see, the first time we fucked each others brains out was-"

Naruto interrupts, "Hey! I don't need those details! Just how you met and started dating!"

Anko replies, "Humph, spoil sport! It was about two years ago, I was feeling shitty about some crap that doesn't concern you, when I walked into a bar and saw Kakashi sitting there, all miserable and drunk. I thought, well shit, he's kind of hot and I'd love to know what's under that mask, so I went over to try and scratch an itch, if you know what I mean."

Naruto responds with a blush, "Yeah, yeah, just move on with the story."

Anko shrugs her shoulders and continues, "Well, he was moping about how you had just met your dad inside your seal and how his sensei would be disappointed in him for not being there for. He was pathetic with how he wouldn't blame you for slugging him in face for not telling you about your pops. Well, in short we both felt like shit and ended up finding comfort in each other. For almost a year it was just about the sexual release, but some how down the road, I found myself just wanting to spend time with him. This warmth filled my heart and before I knew, we were going steady, but he still has this shit baggage about not saving his friends and that he doesn't deserve happiness like this. He tried to end it with me, but well, you know me, I didn't except that pile of bullshit he was trying to peddle. I forced him to get over his crap or you know, the whole skinning thing, so we're still together. I'm not telling you anymore Gaki! That stuffs between us!"

Naruto replies, "Sure, and thanks for telling me."

Anko responds, "No biggie, just don't go spreading it or you die horribly."

As Anko's about to leave, Naruto decides to add, "Anko, if I find a way to remove the curse mark, you'll be the first to know. Ya Know!"

Anko parts with, "Damn straight Gaki, or I'll skin your sweet little ass!", her laughter reverberating around the area as she disappears in a swirl of leaves.

The rest of that week, Naruto met up with the rest of Team Kakashi at an open field for them to train in. Sakura had been giving leg weights like Lee's to increase her speed, and is not allowed to remove them unless she is on a mission, or someone's life is at risk. They also found out Sakura's natures are earth and water, which is perfect, seeing as Yamato has the same ones, and is helping her to develop them while also teaching her a few jutsu. Though they won't be as powerful as someone who has mastered their chakra change in nature, but they should still be easier for her to perform.

Fuu turned out to also have an earth and wind chakra natures, though her earth was stronger than her wind, the reverse of Naruto. Yamato is having her focus on developing her earth chakra and teaching a few earth style jutsu like Sakura, but Naruto is showing her some basic wind style jutsu on the side.

Sai already has a grasp on his natures of fire and water, but actually doesn't know that many jutsu in those elements, which Kakashi and Yamato will change a bit. But for now, they focus on Sai's taijutsu only, not being allowed to use his Root kenjutsu, he gets the stuffing kicked out of him.

Naruto split his clones up into three groups, one thousand worked on his sealing jutsu, another thousand on developing his sensory ability, and the remaining two thousand worked with him on adding wind chakra to his rasengan. With his increased reserves, he can now easily create four thousand clones without over exerting himself. Even so, the after effect of using that many clones at once for training still whipped him out. The first two days, all he got was the rasengan exploding in his face, taking out a lot of clones in the process, slowing him down massively.

It was near the end of his second day that Naruto comments in near defeat, "It's impossible to add my wind chakra to the rasengan! It takes so much focus just to make the rasengan, to add on a change in nature, it's too much.", the last of his clones working on it disappear and he falls on his rear, covered in sweat.

Kakashi, who is crouched down next to Naruto to check on him, asks, "Since when do you whine about ninjutsu? It's not like you. Are you really Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto responds, "I know that it's not like me, but even with the Hirashin, I felt like a was at least making some progress, but all this does is blow up in my face as soon as I start getting the mix of my wind chakra. I'm not making any progress!"

Kakashi replies, "Doesn't matter. You must keep at it."

Naruto raises his voice as he explains, "Kakashi-sensei, what if someone asked you to look to the right and the left at the same time?! It's impossible, and that's what this feels like!"

Kakashi's eye widens a bit in surprise, but returns to normal as he comes up with a solution, "I see, so that's what this is about. This is certainly a difficult task, however,", Kakashi proceeds to stand up and make the ever familiar cross hand-sign, creating a shadow clone.

Then while he looks to the right and his clone looks to the left, they say, "Here's how you can look to the right-while looking to the left. Still think it's impossible."

Naruto's face shifts to look of sudden understanding and then slaps himself in the head as he says, "I'm an idiot! I should have known! Uh, don't tell anyone I said that!"

Kakashi asks rather confused, "Should have know what? Did you figure something out?"

Naruto explains, "I use to have to use a shadow clone to make the rasengan, so I should have known that by adding another element to the rasengan would mean I'd need to start using the clone to help again. While I concentrate on making the rasengan, my clone can focus on adding wind chakra! It's so simple that I didn't think about it!"

The next day, Naruto returns to his training as Kakashi is met with a surprise showing up to talk with him. Sasuke has finished all the paperwork he had to fill out to return to active duty, with a few Anbu hiding in the shadows, having been watching him for the past three days.

Kakashi puts on his eye smile and says, "Ah, if it isn't the missing member of our team, Uchiha Sasuke. Finally done with all the formalities of being reinstated?"

Sasuke answers, "Humph, I wish. I've only finished the paperwork, I still have several annoying meetings and debriefs to attend. For now though, I have some free time and I want to see about you helping me with my new Mangekyo Sharingan, seeing as Naruto told me you have it as well."

Kakashi loses the eye smile and responds, "Hmm, I do have Mangekyo Sharingan, but I should warn you that using it comes with significant risk to yourself. So, for now I'll help you learn to use it, but ask that once use you get the grasp of it, that you refrain from using it, unless you have to."

Sasuke comments, "As long as it allows me to kill Itachi, then there is no risk too great."

Kakashi clarifies, "The more you use it, the more eyesight you lose. So, unless you want to fight Itachi blind, then I suggest that you take my advice, Sasuke.", a serious expression on his face.

Sasuke knows that he's going to need every advantage he can get when he faces Itachi, he can't afford to lose his eyesight, so yields, "Fine. Lets go."

Naruto sees Sasuke talking with Kakashi and yells out, "Hey! Sasuke! What's up! Are you here to train too?!", the rasengan he's working on starts to lose it's stability at Naruto's loss of concentration.

Another Naruto yells at him, "Hey! Stay focused or it'll-", Ka-Boom! The rasengan that was starting to sprout four points with wind chakra explodes, taking out several groups of clones working on the same thing.

The original Naruto yells out, "Hey! You idiots need to stay focused or we'll blow up!"

Several of Naruto's clones yell back, "Who are you calling an idiot?! Idiot!"

Naruto fires back, "You are! Idiots!"

Some of Naruto's clones comment, "But if we're you, then aren't you just calling yourself an idiot?"

Naruto blushes in embarrassment, before yelling back, "That's-, I mean-, Just shut up!", seeing the rasengan he's working on start to lose it's stability, he says, "Oh crap!", Ka-boom!

As his clones start laughing at their creator, their rasengans start exploding, causing a chain reaction of explosions filled with curses and laughter. By the end of it, only the real Naruto is left laying spread eagle and smoldering, twitching from combined pain and irritation.

Kakashi and Sasuke just watch with sweat-drops and deadpan expressions, with Sasuke commenting, "It seems that Naruto hasn't change much after all. Still a dobe."

Kakashi chuckles as he adds, "Well, at least he's physically stronger than he use to be."

Sasuke's expression shifts back to being serious as he asks, "Is this how he became so much stronger?"

Kakashi answers, "In a way, yes. The shadow clone method does speed up his progress, but it's a method only he can use. The amount of chakra required is too much for anyone else, with maybe a few exceptions in the world, but no one in the Land of Fire, you included Sasuke, can handle the chakra exhaustion and mental strain this method causes. So, really, it's about the strength of Naruto's will that makes him so strong."

Sasuke watches as Naruto just dusts himself off and proceeds to create two thousand clones and go back at it, then comments, "That might very well be true, but I have no intention on falling behind. Lets go Kakashi."

Kakashi is hoping it's just Sasuke's natural rivalry, but he can still feel a kind of coldness to Sasuke's comment. It seems that until he confronts Itachi, he'll still have this darkness inside him, but figuring that it's better to be there and help him through it, than just letting him go off on his own and be consumed by that darkness, Kakashi follows Sasuke to a clearing away from everyone else to train him. Hopefully, when Itachi is dead, Sasuke can go back to being himself, but Kakashi knows that the world rarely works out the way you want it to, and may find Sasuke slipping deeper into that dark empty place.

Kakashi has created stone pillars for Sasuke to concentrate his vision on, knowing that whatever power Sasuke's Mangekyo sharingan is, it'll be based on his field of vision. He even demonstrated his Kamui on one the pillars for Sasuke while explaining the process, so he could get an idea of what to do himself. Focusing on just his left eye, Sasuke keeps it closed while focusing his chakra into it, letting it build until it feels like it's going to burst. Blood starts to spill from his eye, looking like a bloody tear streaming down his face, opening his eye while looking at one of the pillars, his star shape pattern showing with veins straining around his eye, causing a black flame to consume the stone pillar.

As Sasuke grabs his left eye in pain, Kakashi comments, "Hmm, it seems you have the Amaterasu, an inextinguishable black flame that won't stop burning until it completely turns it's target into ash. The same ability as Itachi's that Lord Jiraiya told me about, it's something else when seeing it in person."

Sasuke replies while still holding his eye, "Good, then I have a way of countering one of his powers."

Kakashi responds, "True, but your chakra fell quite a bit from that one use, plus, that pain you're feeling is the damage caused from it's use. You're far from using it well enough to combat Itachi's Amaterasu, so I want you to keep using it until all of these stone pillars are reduced to ash. Then once you are able to use it with more ease, I want you to stop using it until your fight with Itachi. Understood?"

Sasuke just nods his head as he begins to ready another shot with his left eye, aiming at the next stone pillar. A half hour is spent this way, until Sasuke is on the last pillar, nearing his absolute limit as he readies his final shot of the day. He's already started to notice a slight blurring of his left eye's vision, proving without a doubt that his eye does get damaged with every use, but takes solace in the fact that Itachi's eyesight must be much worse.

After this last go, Kakashi plans on checking on Naruto's progress with adding wind chakra nature to the rasengan. Just as Sasuke opens his eye to release the Amaterasu, Sakura comes out of the foliage near the pillars, calling out Sasuke's name in the desire to speak with him about her conflicting feelings for him. That causes Sasuke to slightly turn his head in her direction, blasting her with black flames!

Sakura manages to put her arms up in front of herself as the flames hit her, as she screams in pain as the Amaterasu eats away at her arms, Kakashi yells out in franticly, "Sakura! Hold on!", dropping his book and running towards her while lifting his forehead protector.

Activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, Kakashi says in distress, "All try to use my Kamui to send just the flames to another dimension!", uncertain that he won't take her arms with them.

Sasuke places his hand on Kakashi's shoulder and says, "Move! Let me handle this, I think there's something I can do!", his right eye closed with blood pouring out of it.

Kakashi moves to the side as Sasuke opens his right eye while looking at the fire trying to consume Sakura, the flames rapidly diminishes until they're completely extinguished, revealing some bad burns on Sakura's arms, but nothing that Tsunade can't heal.

Kakashi crouches down and scopes Sakura up into his arms, who has passed out from the pain, and stands to leave, ordering, "Alright, that's enough for today Sasuke. I need to get Sakura to Lady Hokage and hope she can prevent these burns from scaring!", jumping away at full speed to the Hokage's Mansion.

Sasuke just stands there in the clearing by himself as he thinks about how he has just unlocked an even better weapon to counter Itachi's Amaterasu. Though, he has to admit that Naruto had a point, when creating the Amaterasu all he felt was the hatred for Itachi, but when he extinguished those flames he felt worry and concern for Sakura. The more important and over all useful technique for his fight against Itachi was born from his bond of friendship. Maybe, the hatred that Itachi keeps pushing him towards is just a means for which to control him. Perhaps it's time to use something more than the hatred to become strong, he'll no longer be played by Itachi! Though, his hatred for him will never go away, not until he lays dead at his feet.

Walking out of the clearing to see if Naruto has blown himself up again, Sasuke can't help but figure that with is newly gained powers, he's stronger than Naruto now. That thought is short lived as he exits the wooded area and enters the clearing that Naruto is training in. Naruto is standing in the middle of the clearing, a large rasengan centered around four curved like blades coming out, resembling a fuma shuriken, is in his right raised hand.

Sasuke can actually feel the high pressure wind chakra swirling around it as a loud screeching noise echo's around Naruto. Activating his sharingan, Sasuke watches as Naruto slams his new rasengan into a boulder, presumably one he made with earth jutsu, the central sphere of it detonates, producing a vortex of wind in the immediate area, consuming the boulder and Naruto, who poofs into smoke, indicating that it's a clone, inside a vortex of countless microscopic wind blades that even Sasuke's sharingan can't keep count of, as they completely disintegrate the boulder into dust, leaving a large crater in it's wake.

The real Naruto whistles out, impressed by the level of destruction his new jutsu caused, asking, "So, Sasuke, what do you think of my Wind Style: Rasenshuriken?"

Sasuke quickly hides his concern and bluffs, "Not bad Dobe, but compared to my Amaterasu, it's practically nothing."

Naruto replies with a hint of sarcasm, "Right, my awesome jutsu that pretty much disintegrates anything it touches, is small time to an all consuming black fire!"

Sasuke answers back, "Of course, after all, wind juitsu, no matter how powerful, can only increase the power of my fire jutsu, so you might as well be boosting my attacks."

Naruto responds nonchalantly, "I guess you do have a point, and I don't mind having jutsu that can work cooperatively with yours, but if I remember right, doesn't wind trump lightning?"

Sasuke replies, "Humph, that's true, but that rasenshuriken of yours has plenty of flaws."

Naruto admits, "Yeah, it tends to dissipate if I try to throw it, so it can only be used as a melee attack, and from what I got from my clone, it tends to cause quite a bit damage to myself in the process. Then there is the massive amount of chakra it uses, I can only use it four times before I'm near empty. Plus, it happens to fail fifty percent of the time, so I still have a ways to go before it's perfected, but it's still one powerful jutsu. Almost as powerful as my ultimate attack, though it's only close range, but it doesn't take nearly as long to create, so that's a bonus."

Sasuke is silently concerned that Naruto has an even more destructive jutsu then that, but makes sure not show any indication that he is as he responds, "Whatever Naruto, good luck on fixing your new jutsu. I've already finished my training for today, so goodbye Dobe."

Naruto stops Sasuke by asking, "Wait a minute Sasuke! What happened with Sakura? I felt her chakra weaken, and then Kakashi-sensei leaving with her."

Sasuke answers, "Sakura accidently walked into my Amaterasu, getting badly burned in the process, but fortunately I was able to extinguish it with my other eye's ability. Kakashi took Sakura to the Hokage to get healed."

Naruto quickly becomes distressed, yelling out, "What?! I need to go check up on her and see of she is okay!", turning around and on the verge of running off.

Unfortunately, that is the moment when his two thousand clones working on his sealing jutsu and sensory ability dissipate, transferring the experience and fatigue to him, causing Naruto to fall face first into the ground.

Breathing heavily, Naruto comments, "Damn it! What horrible timing!", struggling to pick himself off the ground.

Sasuke walks over as Naruto gets back up on his wobbly feet and knocks him back down on his butt while saying, "Stop Naruto. You can barely stand and I'm certain that you'd only get in their way right now. Leave Sakura in the Hokage's hands, she is the world renowned Queen of Slugs and Elixirs, a medical genus. So, sit back and catch your breath first, before running off to annoy the Hokage as she heals Sakura."

Naruto yields as he falls back the ground, crossing his arms behind his head to use as a pillow, and replies, "Fine. But once I'm rested, I'm headed straight to the Hokage's Mansion to check on Sakura-chan! What are you going to do Sasuke?"

Sasuke answers while walking away, "I'm going home to rest. I am going to have an annoying day of meetings tomorrow.", disappearing in swirl of leave once nearing the end of the clearing.

Naruto comments to himself, "Teme! Sakura would love nothing more than for you to check up on her, even if to just give her the illusion that you're concerned for her well being.", nodding off as he thinks that Sasuke has no idea how lucky he is.

Naruto is shaken awake by a battered and dirty Fuu as she asks, "Hey! Naruto! Are you hurt?!", concern clearly present in her voice.

Naruto groans as he sits up and replies, "No Fuu, I'm not hurt. Just exhausted from training."

Fuu cheers up as she responds, "Oh, that's good! But come on, it's late! We should head home, maybe get a bite to eat on the way?"

Naruto perks up at the prospect of hitting Ichiraku's, jumping as he yells out, "Come on Fuu! There's nothing better than a hot steamy bowl of Ichiraku's ramen after a hard day of training!", grabbing her hand and pulling her along to his ramen heaven that awaits them.

Naruto suddenly stops dead in his tracks as he remembers what Sasuke told him about Sakura being injured, and quickly informs Fuu, "Crap! I almost forgot! Fuu, Sakura was injured today during training! Come on, lets go check on her and see if she's okay!", letting go of her hand and racing off through the tree tops towards the Hokage Mansion with Fuu in toe.

After rushing into Tsunade's office, ignoring both the guards and Shizune, Naruto yells out, "Hey Baa-chan! How's Sakura doing?! Will she be okay?! HUH?!", seeing an irate Tsunade with Team Asuma standing in front of her desk.

Tsunade yell at Naruto, "What did I tell you about barging in here Naruto?! Close the damn door and wait outside! NOW!"

Fuu grabs Naruto and quickly complies with her wishes, pulling him out of her office and closing the door behind her.

Fuu gives Naruto the sink eye as he chuckles out nervously, "Uh, I guess Sakura isn't here anymore, huh? Kind of make sense now when I think about it."

Shizune walks up, rather irritated herself, and explains, "If you would have stopped and listened to me instead of barging into Lady Tsunade's Office, you would have known that sooner!"

Naruto tries to placate her, "I'm sorry Shizune-neechan. I was just so worried about Sakura, and I fell asleep before getting here, and was hoping that Sakura was still here and-"

Interrupting Naruto, Fuu takes over, "We're so sorry for our actions, but it's perfectly understandable for us to be worried about Sakura, isn't it?", Grabbing Naruto and making him bow along side her.

Shizune replies, "Yes, it is understandable, but still, it wouldn't hurt to think things through before acting. Sakura is going to be fine, Lady Tsunade was able to heal both her arms before any permanent damage was caused. She'll be sore for a few days, but with some ointment and a few healing sections, she won't even have a single blemish from her burns."

That brings sighs of relief from Naruto and Fuu, but before they can express their gratitude, Tsunade shouts out, "Naruto! Get in here now!"

Naruto nervously chuckles as he asks, "Uh, maybe you'd like to come with me Fuu?"

Before Fuu can answer Tsunade orders, "Just you Naruto! Fuu, you are to wait with Shizune!"

Fuu sympathetically responds, "Sorry Naruto, it looks like you're on your own."

Naruto slumps over a bit as he turns to most likely get an earful from Tsunade as he replies despondently, "Thanks Fuu, see you after having my ass handed to me by Baa-chan."

Once inside, and locking the door as per Tsunade's instructions, Naruto is worried and surprised when privacy barriers are erected, getting him to ask, "Uh, why are you putting up barriers Baa-chan?"

Tsunade answers in a deadly serious tone, "Because what I'm about to tell all of you is highly classified and I don't want it being leaked."

Shikamaru sighs out, "I knew this was going to be troublesome."

Asuma adds, "It's strange to be given classified information right after coming off a mission. Couldn't it have waited until tomorrow, after we've had some rest and checked back in with our loved ones.", hoping to hear from Kurenai about the possible addition to their lives.

Ino comments, "And I haven't had a proper shower in days?! I feel like I've grown a second layer of skin made of dirt?!"

Choji whines, "I'm starving!"

Tsunade gives them all a murderous stare before replying, "Stop whining! You're all shinobi right?! So, start acting like it and just deal with it!", getting them all to stand at attention and stop their whining, Tsunade means business.

Naruto asks, more serious himself, and secretly glad no to be getting chewed out, "What is it, and why does it involve me?"

Tsunade answers, "It's about the unsettling truth of Danzo's aiding of the Oto/Suna invasion and subsequent assassination of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!", bringing shocked expressions to their faces, though Choji and Ino were also confused, not knowing who Danzo is.

As Asuma's knuckles turn white from clenching his fists in rage, and Shikamaru narrows his eyes in thought, Naruto yells out, "What?! First this old geezer tries assassinating Sasuke, then he apparently helped kill Old Man Third! That's it! HE'S A FUCKING DEAD MAN!"

Tsunade orders, "Naruto! Calm down! We don't have enough evidence to prove that Danzo did, just the word of Kabuto, and that's not enough."

Naruto replies, "Damn! How does this guy always make sure that nothing sticks to him?!"

Shikamaru asks, "So, where are we going and when are we leaving to get the proof we need?", already figuring out what is happening.

Tsunade smiles as she explains, "It's good to see you're as sharp as ever, Shikamaru. You've already guessed that you're all here because we have a lead on undisputable evidence on Danzo's indiscretions. Lord Inoichi went through Kabuto's memories with a fine tooth comb, but was met with a nearly endless number of genjutsu barriers and traps, he was only able to access the memories Kabuto wanted him to. Naturally, with time and the Yamanaka's special machine to aid Inoichi's jutsu, he could have gotten past them, but the traps were made to kill himself, not the intruder."

Asuma chimes in, "Forcing Inoichi to stop, or otherwise kill our only source of information."

Tsunade continues, "Yes, so finding the only accessible memories, Inoichi saw how Kabuto was forced in the Foundation by Danzo threating to cut funds to the orphanage he lived in at the time. The sister in charge of that orphanage, who kabuto saw as his mother and she saw him as her son, was a highly skilled medic and accomplished spy, so Danzo was also able to force her to spy for him in other hidden villages. Eventually, Kabuto was trained to do the same thing, and through an insidious plan, Danzo had them try to kill each other as a means to silence them."

Ino is sickened, and asks, "How could this Danzo guy trick them into killing each other and why would he kill two of his spies?"

Shikamaru answers, "Spies can be seen as knowing to much, and from what I've heard about this Danzo guy, he's the type to neutralize any threat to him and the village without any concern of who they are, even loyal Konoha shinobi."

Tsunade adds, "He tricked Kabuto's mother into thinking that Kabuto was someone else. As apart of her deal for working for Danzo as a spy for Root, he had to give her periodic pictures of Kabuto as he grew up, but Danzo changed the photo's slightly over time to change Kabuto's features so that he looked like someone else. Then he sent them both in as spies in Iwa and set it up so that they'd end up killing each other as one of their covers were blown. Kabuto ended up having to kill his mother while not understanding why she didn't recognize him. It wasn't until Orochimaru told him why and that Danzo had sent him to kill the survivor, thus gaining his loyalty."

Naruto angrily replies, "What kind of sick bastard forces people to work for them, and try and have them kill each other to cover his own tracks?!"

Choji adds, "This Danzo guy is sounding like a real monster.", anger present in his own voice.

Tsunade get them back on track, "The point is, Kabuto wanted us to know that he has real hatred for Danzo, so that we'd believe him when he told us about Danzo's conspiring with Orochimaru to plan the Oto/Suna invasion. Danzo had given them Anbu patrol routes, weaknesses in our border security, and even placed Root Anbu on patrol routes where Suna and Oto forces were laying in wait for the attack so they'd ignore their presence."

Shikamaru comments, "Even if that's true, there's no way the word of a Konoha traitor and spy for Oto will have any weight against an honored elder of our village, like Danzo."

Tsunade responds, "Yes, which is why you're here. Kabuto lowered some of the barriers to allow Inoichi to confirm his story and the fact that Kabuto hid physical evidence, in the form of written reports between Danzo and Orochimaru, planning the invasion and assassination of Sarutobi-sensei. He also confirmed that it's located in a hideout in the Land of Frost along the border of the Land of Lightning, one that Sasuke doesn't know about. Also that we'll need to let Kabuto have some of Orochimaru's flesh and access to his chakra to get into the hideout and retrieve the evidence. I know I can trust you to handle this, and you do excel in capturing targets, just incase he tries to escape."

Naruto asks, "Uh, why do you need me?"

Tsunade explains, "You're use of the Hirashin will insure that Kabuto doesn't use this chance to escape, because even if he manages to get past Team Asuma, you can instantly track him down and recapture him."

Naruto happily salutes, "Sure thing Baa-chan! I can't wait to help take down that traitorous geezer!"

Asuma asks, "When are we to escort Kabuto to this hideout in Frost?"

Tsunade answers, "Immediately, you're going to sneaking into the Torture and Interrogation Corps where you'll meet with Ibiki and Kabuto in the secret tunnel used to funnel our most sensitive intelligence in and out of the village. Very few are aware of it's existence, because it's only used during attacks on the village, to ensure that our most vital intelligence is safely secured off site. Danzo is aware of it's existence, but not of the separate tunnel hidden inside that tunnel, only the Hokage and current head of the T&I Corps are made aware of it. You'll use this tunnel to exit the village unnoticed, while Naruto will create shadow clones for all of you that will head out through the main gate on a cover mission to Suna."

Shikamaru asks, "Is there a reason for all this secrecy?"

Tsunade answers, "Danzo has been constantly trying to get his hands on Kabuto from the very first moment we had him. He's tried by going through both official channels and covertly sending Root agents to try and get to him. So there is a very real threat of Root Anbu attacking you to get to Kabuto, and I don't want Danzo getting a heads up that we're on to him."

Asuma replies, "Understood! Once Naruto's transformed clones of us are exiting the village we'll covertly head to the T&I Corps to secretly escort Kabuto to retrieve the evidence on Danzo's involvement in the Oto/Suna invasion. This is a covert operation that'll take us along the border of the Land of Lightning, no matter what happens, we're not to engage Kumo shinobi or cross into their borders. Any action on Lightning's soil or against their shinobi could lead to war, understand?"

After giving affirmative responses, Naruto creates five shadow clones and has four of them transform into Team Asuma, and they proceeds to leave to their individual homes to pack up and leave for their fake cover mission of delivering a coded message to Suna. Naruto made sure to keep all conversations his transformed clones had as brief as possible, trying to emulate each one of their behaviors. He lucked out that Inoichi knew what was going on and covered for him when he ran into Ino's mother, and the others had no run ins. To the naked eye, it looked like Naruto was assigned to Team Asuma to deliver an important message to the Kazekage in the middle of the night, appearing as if they're moving covertly.

Once Naruto felt his clones chakra signatures leave the village, the real Team Asuma headed to T&I Corps, using Naruto and Ino's sensory ability to make sure they weren't being tailed and moving through the shadows to make sure they're not seen. Once inside the building, they followed a planed route through the building to ensure that they're not caught on any of the security camera's, making it to the secret tunnel way.

Ibiki says as Team Asuma and Naruto arrive, "About time, I already don't like this, so lets hurry this along."

Asuma replies, "I'm no big fan of this either, but if this allows us to take down Danzo for having my old man killed, and aiding in an invasion on our village that lead to the deaths of many of our shinobi, then it'll be worth it."

Kabuto speaks up from behind Ibiki, "Don't worry, it'll give you all the proof needed to bring him down. It was meant to be leverage to get Danzo to aid us in another invasion on Konoha, once we had built up enough military force to ensure our victory, but a certain little fox had to end Lord Orochimaru's life! So, I see no reason to hold on to it anymore, and besides, I'd like nothing more than to see Danzo brought to ruin."

Naruto replies, "Well, I'm glad my killing of that snake can help bring down an equally slimy and dirty traitor."

Kabuto responds in a pompous tone, "They're nothing alike! Lord Orochimaru showed me the truth of the world and was only interested in becoming the ultimate being and gaining all the knowledge of the shinobi arts. An insignificant little boy could never understand the greatness of what Lord Orochimaru was trying to accomplish!"

Shikamaru stops Naruto from arguing by saying, "We're not here to argue our beliefs, you're to lead us to the hideout in Frost, so we can bring down Danzo, and that's all that matters."

Naruto pouts as Kabuto comment, "True, it's good to see that at least one of you has some intelligence."

Ibiki speaks up, "Enough talk! Get moving before one of Danzo's Root agents finds us!"

With that Shikamaru put together their formation, with Naruto in the lead to scan ahead with his sensory ability to pick up on any possible ambushes. Asuma is beside Naruto to react to that threat with his high levels of experience and combat abilities. Kabuto will be behind them, so as to guide them on where to go. Choji on Kabuto's right and Shikamaru on his left to guard him from any surprise assaults from the flanks, and Ino taking up the rear, using her sensory ability to make sure they're not being pursued. This formation allows them to circle around Kabuto to best protect him from attacks, while also keeping him from attempting to flee.

It took two days to reach the Land of Frost's border near the Land of Lightning, they ran into no ambushes and seemed not to have a tail on them. The only note worthy event was Ino's constant inquiry about Sasuke's return and if the rumors of his killing Orochimaru are true. She can't help getting all the gossip she can. Though Naruto could have sworn that Ino was eyeing him a lot.

Now, Kabuto is standing in front of a large rock face hidden by a thicket of tress and rocks, blurring through a series of hand-signs, a doorway made of sealing arrays with the kanji for blood in the center appears.

Kabuto demands, "Now give me some of Lord Orochimaru's flesh, I need it to open this door."

Asuma looks at Ino and gives her a nod, signaling her to pull out the storage scroll containing a sample of Orochimaru's flesh and handing it to Kabuto. He proceeds to unravel the scroll and release the sample, taking time to admire it, the thoughts of the power it holds and the perfect surgical cuts made for it's removal from his master crosses his mind.

Kabuto comments, "What beautiful cuts, must have been extracted by Tsunade herself, or her assistant, um, what was her name? Oh! Yeah, it's Shizune, right?"

Asuma orders, "Stop stalling! Open the door and lead us to the evidence we seek, I'm not in the mood for any of your games!"

Kabuto mutters, "Should have known that lesser minds wouldn't understand.", while placing the flesh in the circle.

The sealing array lights up in a dark purple-black color, shinning so bright that it momentarily blinds everyone but Kabuto, who closed his eyes in preparation for it, while using the opportunity to pocket Orochimaru's flesh, making it look like the seal devoured it as the price to open the doorway into the hideout.

Everyone else pulls their weapons of choice, mostly kunai, with Naruto unsealing his Kubikiribocho and Asuma pulling out his chakra metal trench knives, in preparation for Kabuto betraying them and setting off a trap to escape, or kill them. Opening their eyes and seeing Kabuto just standing in front of the newly made doorway, a smirk plastered on his face.

Naruto yells out in frustration, "What the hell was that about?!"

Kabuto replies innocently, "Oh, did I forget to mention that part? Sorry."

Getting Ino to fire back, "Yeah right! Sorry my ass! You were just messing with us!"

Choji tries calming both Naruto and Ino down as Asuma warns Kabuto in a dangerous tone, "Pull something like that again, and I'll kill you before you can regret it. Understand?"

Kabuto shrugs his shoulders and replies, "Fine, but if you kill me, you may never find the evidence against Danzo.", threating back himself.

Shikamaru just coldly responds, "Just take us to it already."

Kabuto just turns and walks into the eerily lit entrance of the hideout, Team Asuma and Naruto following after him, all on edge for the possible trap they're walking into.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lightning, not too far off from Naruto's group, a woman in her late twenties is running through some sewers from unknown pursuers. She has long, straight, blonde hair bound with taut bandages, dark eyes, and is wearing red lipstick. Her outfit consists of a short-sleeved black and purple blouse, black pants, both of which have a design similar to clouds on them, purple fingerless gloves and a chain of blue beads wound around her left hand and forearm. She's also wearing the standard Kumogakure forehead protector, sandals, a kunai holster strapped to her right thigh, and bandages around her arms and legs as well as a red belt around her waist.

She dodges a blackened hand attached to long black tendrils, entering a large area where all the sewers seem to meet, as the hand splashes in to sewer water, she corrects herself on top of it, facing her pursuers.

As the appendage retracts into the shadows, a deep dark voice comments, "You did well child, but this the end for you. The orders of the Akatsuki are absolute, and they demand we capture you, so don't struggle to much, or I might lose my temper and kill you.", two figures in Akatsuki cloaks walking out into the open, revealing themselves.

The woman replies, "Just as I suspected, you are from the Akatsuki."

The new face, or masked face comments in a high pitched and ridiculous voice, "She's the Two Tails' jinchuuriki host? She looks scary Kakuzu!"

Kakuzu irritably replies, "Stop whining Tobi or I'll kill you myself!"

The now called Tobi is wearing an orange mask with a spiral pattern focused around his right eye and has short spiky black hair. Underneath his cloak he wears a black long-sleeved top that covers his neck and chin, a pair of black gloves, dark colored pants, standard shinobi sandals, and white stirrups. On his waist, he wears a thick black belt with armor-like plates attached to it, and similar plates on his upper arms, also wearing black nail polish on his fingers and toes with a purple Akatsuki ring on his left thumb.

The woman informs, "Heh, you think you chased me in here? Actually, I lured you here!", shouting the last part as she makes a hand-sign, causing multiply explosion tags to detonate at all the sewer entrances, trapping them inside.

The woman continues, "Now that I know you are Akatsuki, I'm not letting you get away."

Tobi comments worriedly, "Oh no! Were trapped now! What are we going to do Kakuzu?!"

Kakuzu irritably replies, "Shut up, Tobi. This is no problem, in fact, it's better this way. She can't run away from us."

The woman responds with some heat and determination in her voice, "Upon my name, Ni'i Yugito of Kumogakure, I swear I will kill you!"

Tobi replies franticly, "She looks really mad now!"

Kakuzu warns, "Enough, Tobi. You're starting to try my patience, and I could always use a new heart!"

Tobi apologizes, "S-Sorry Kakuzu! Please don't harvest my heart!"

Kakuzu responds, "Then you'd better hurry and capture this jinchuuriki."

Tobi complains, "But she looks really strong! I can't beat her that fast by myself! Um, maybe unless you'd be willing to negotiate, Yugito-san?"

Yugito asks, rather confused, "What? Negotiate?"

Tobi answers, "Yes, if you surrender, then Kakuzu-sempai won't kill me! So won't you please give up?"

Yugito's hair becomes undone and stands up as a blue fire surrounds her and she slams her hands down while yelling out in rage, "YOU MUST BE JOKING!"

Tobi comments in a frightened tone, "I guess t-that's a no then?"

Kakuzu asks irritably, "Are you an idiot, Tobi?"

Yugito transforms into a large blue fire two tailed cat, roaring out, causing a massive release of chakra.

Tobi starts trembling in fear as he frantically says, "What the? S-she's completely turned herself o-over to her t-tailed beast!", grabbing the sides of his head in a panic.

The transformed Yugito raises her right paw and smashes it down on Kakuzu, who tries to hold it with both his arms, but ends up giving way as it slams him into the ground.

Tobi starts comically freaking out while screaming, "OH NO! Kakuzu-san!", the Two Tailed Cat crouching down and opening it's maw to release a massive fireball!

The fireball consumes Tobi and explodes, destroying the entire six story building they're under, leaving the area covered in debris.

Tobi phases out of the ground, unharmed, behind a large piece of rubble, commenting, "Ouch, hot! I thought cat tongues couldn't tolerate heat. So this the Two-Tailed Cat Demon, does that make me a trapped mouse?", scared out of his wits end.

Back with Naruto's group, they had gone down a long flight of stairs as they entered, apparently there's no first floor, only stairs. It took them several minutes of traversing the stairway until they reached the bottom, a single normal sized room, no bigger than Naruto's apartment.

Naruto comments, unimpressed, "This is it? Your super secret, hidden base that on one else but you were trusted with by Orochimaru!"

Ino adds, "Yeah, I was kind of expecting more after the crazy door and stupidly long stairs at the entrance."

Kabuto chastises, "You'd best not judge a book by it's cover, you never know what lies inside.", while making a hand-sign, causing the wall opposite the stairs to slide open, revealing a smaller room filled with scrolls, books, and files.

Asuma asks, "What's all this?"

Kabuto answers, "Lord Orochimaru's back up files on all his most important research. A failsafe in the event of our other bases being discovered and destroyed. Just like those secret tunnels underneath the Torture and Interrogation Corps building, a means to protect our most irreplaceable intelligence."

Shikamaru gets to the point and orders, "Show us where the evidence on Danzo is! We're not going to go searching through all of this, and don't even try lying by saying you don't remember. I don't see Orochimaru or yourself as the type to not have everything organized, you probably made sure to know exactly where every piece of information is in this place, so that you can grab what you need in a moments notice. After all, you never know when you might have to salvage what you can while destroying the rest, as an elaborate trap to help you escape if captured.", giving Kabuto a knowing look, one that says he knows that there is a booby trap some where nearby for them to trigger.

Kabuto smugly smiles as he replies, "Normally you'd be right, but with Lord Orochimaru dead and Sasuke helping Konoha to dismantle Oto, all I have left is to see that Danzo and his precious Foundation are destroyed!"

Asuma responds, "Then give us what we need to do it, and if I sense even the smallest inklings of a trap, I'll kill you where you stand."

Kabuto nonchalantly walks over to a shelf on the right and pulls out a storage scroll, tossing it to Asuma while saying, "Here. That's what you're looking for."

Asuma looks at the scroll in his hands cautiously, before ordering, "Naruto, I want you to have a clone open it in the other room, just in case it's booby trapped."

Naruto replies, "Sure thing Asuma-sensei!", creating a clone that takes the scroll and heads into the other room.

Shikamaru then orders, "Kabuto, close the door to this room."

Kabuto just makes the necessary hand-sign, closing the door as Naruto opens the scroll.

The sound of a the storage scroll opening his heard, followed by Naruto's clone yelling, "Holly Shit! Hey! Come on out you guys! You won't believe this!"

Kabuto opens the door with Shikamaru's permission, Naruto, Asuma and Shikamaru go to take a look at what Naruto's clone has discovered, having Ino and Choji stay back to keep an eye on Kabuto.

Naruto's clone waves them closer, saying, "Kabuto wasn't lying about having enough to bury Danzo!", showing piles of files filled with schematics, blueprints, pictures, intelligence, and patrol routes on Konoha.

Shikamaru and Asuma start going through them, revealing how Oto and Suna shinobi where able to get passed their defenses and Anbu patrol routes, even showing area's that were guaranteed to have Root Anbu that'd ignore and even hide their presence. Highly classified data that only the Hokage, the elders, and the Anbu captain would have had access to, but the most damming evidence is the voice recordings and pictures of Danzo's meetings with Orochimaru. Most of which are done through Root agent's, but the first meeting shows Danzo, and the recordings supply exactly what those meetings entailed, the handing over of classified information on the Land of Fires defenses, and the agreement of Orochimaru killing the Third Hokage so Danzo can become the Fifth Hokage, and he'd give Orochimaru access to kekkei genkai secrets, forbidden jutsu of Konoha, and the promise of continuing to wage war on Suna.

Smiling as he looks through the evidence, Shikamaru comments, "This is more than what we need to charge Danzo with treason!"

Asuma is glad that they can take down that old war hawk, but is also filled with anger at reading a Root report on the Third Hokage's personal guard and his position during the exams, and how best to separate him from receiving any aid.

Ino happily replies, "Then that means our mission is a success!", jumping up and throwing a fist into the air.

Choji adds, "When we get back to the village, Naruto can finally treat us to our promised feasts!", drooling in anticipation.

Naruto becomes despondent as he mutters, "Oh man. Gamma-chan is going to be empty soon."

Asuma orders out, "Alright, enough celebrating! Lets seal this back up, along with all the data here and head back to village. Then, and only then, can we call this mission a success!"

Shikamaru and Asuma seal back the evidence on Danzo's treasonous actions as Kabuto slowly inches back into the smaller room, just as Ino is about notice, a massive chakra signature gets both hers and Naruto's attention. The chakra is powerful and dark, yet, it has a familiar feel to it, one that Naruto has felt before. It's just like what he felt when he sensed the Seven Tails inside of Fuu, and from the Nine Tails inside of him.

Ino stutters out in fear, having never sensed a chakra so powerful that she can sense it from so far away, "W-what is t-this c-chakra?!", getting Asuma, Shikamaru, and Choji to look at her in concern.

Naruto focuses on it, allowing him to pick up two other signatures by it, almost eclipsed by the Bijuu's chakra, realizing that it must be the Akatsuki going after another jinchuuriki! Without any warning, Naruto Hirashins outside the hideout, having placed a Hirashin mark on one of the nearby trees, just incase Kabuto tried to entomb them inside, running off at full speed towards the Land of Lightning and one of his fellow jinchuuriki.

Asuma yells out, "Naruto! Get back here! Where are going?! Stay on mission!"

Shikamaru asks, "Ino, what was it that you sensed? I think that's where Naruto's headed."

Ino gulps, shaking off the feeling of the powerful chakra, and answers, "I-I don't know exactly. It's a massive chakra that feels dark, but the problem is that I've never sensed a chakra signature from this far away before."

Asuma asks, "Where is it coming from?!"

Ino replies, "I think it's coming from the Land of Lightning."

Asuma curses, "Damn it! It must be a bijuu! Even if it's to rescue one of their jinchuuriki, Kumo won't take kindly to Konoha shinobi entering their territory! That fool could cause an international incident that could spark WAR! Ino I need you to-"

Asuma is interrupted by Kabuto sealing the door shut with him on the other side, cutting them off as he makes his escape.

Shikamaru yells out, "Choji!"

Choji doesn't hesitate, expanding his right arm and punching down the wall hiding the room with all of Orochimaru's data. Once the dust clears, all they see is the room in shambles and Kabuto no where to be seen! Kabuto had opened up an escape tunnel and fled while grabbing several key scrolls filled with data and samples he'll need.

Shikamaru curses to himself and asks, "Ino! Can you sense Kabuto's location?!"

Ino quickly replies, "Yes! There seems to be a hidden tunnel leading out side, he's headed in the opposite direction of Naruto!"

Asuma speaks up, ordering, "Leave him! He can't remove the Hirashin mark on him, only Naruto can! We need to get to Naruto first, then he can Hirashin us to Kabuto, no matter how far he gets. If Naruto is caught in the Land of Lightning, he may just start a war, we have to stop him now! Ino, lead us to Naruto!"

Just as they start to run up the stairs, the hideout starts to crumble as explosion tags go off, getting Shikamaru to yell out, "MOVE! GET TO THE EXIT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"

Team Asuma just barely makes it out as the entrance caves in, getting Asuma to yell out, "Ino! Hurry up and take us to Naruto!"

Ino runs off in the direction of the massive chakra signature with her teammates following after her, as Choji asks, "Is it really that bad if Naruto helps save a Kumo-nin?"

Asuma explains, "The Raikage is a ruthless man that forced us to kill one of our own and hand him their body for killing one of his men that was caught trying to kidnap Hinata! He'll do almost anything to increase Kumo's military might, even accuse Naruto of trying steal one their jinchuuriki, so he can have an excuse to extract the Nine Tails from Naruto!"

Choji comments, "But, if Naruto saves their Jinchuuriki from the Akatsuki, won't whoever it is back up Naruto's story?"

Shikamaru answers, "No, not necessarily. They might just do as they're told, and even if they don't, the Raikage can just ignore their claims, and proceed to extract the Nine Tails while claiming to have had every right to do so. Remember, we're the one's that are illegally crossing their borders and invading their territory."

Asuma adds, "And that is why we need hurry up and get to Naruto first, and hope this doesn't start the fourth shinobi war!", getting them to move as fast as they can.

Back with the Akatsuki, the battle is over, all the nearby buildings have been reduced to rubble and one of the small mountains has a large chunk missing from it. Yugito is laying unconscious on the ground with blood oozing out of various wounds on her body, but still alive and the injuries are non life threatening.

A winded Kakuzu is sitting on the ground to her right, shirtless, covered in sweat and two of his masks on his back are broken, irritably commenting, "I can't believe the Two Tails was able to destroy two of my hearts!"

Tobi, who's undamaged and standing across from Kakuzu, replies, "Well, she was stronger than the average jinchuuriki, and it seems that Jiraiya was able to pass on the intelligence Konoha got from Hidan to Kumo, so she new about your abilities. Luckily, I'm a new member, so she wasn't prepared for my jutsu! I'm amazing, aren't I Kakuzu-san?"

Kakuzu yells out, "Enough games! If you would have fought seriously from the beginning, then I wouldn't be down to three hearts, Madara!"

The now revealed Madara, responds in a deep and chilling voice, "Careful who you threaten Kakuzu. I might not be as powerful as I once was, but I still control the Akatsuki and have enough power to end you! Besides, we can't risk the five Kages becoming aware of my continued existence, so I have to keep playing the fool.", his sharingan glowing from behind the hole in his mask over his right eye.

Kakuzu responds, "Be careful yourself, if they were to find out that you are still alive, the Kages would put aside their little differences to kill you. So, even if you MIGHT have the power to kill me, you wouldn't be able to survive the combined power of the five great shinobi nations. It'd be terrible if they found out before you can retrieve all the Bijuu for yourself."

Madara corrects, "For the Akatsuki, and once the Akatsuki has them all, world domination is within our hands. With us controlling the wars of this world, you'll be able to line your pockets with as much money as you want."

Kakuzu replies, "Of course, why else would I be taking orders from the Akatsuki. As long as I'm paid well for my servies, then we won't have any problems."

Zetsu appears out of the ground and the white half warns, "We have a squad of Konoha shinobi headed this way!", the black half continues, "The Nine Tails is ahead of them and will be here in a matter of seconds!"

Madara asks in a shocked tone, "What are Konoha-nin doing in the Land of Lightning?! And why didn't you warn me earlier?!"

The white half Zetsu answers, "We were busy keeping an eye out for Kumo-nin.", the dark half continues, "And like you said, Konoha-nin shouldn't be anywhere near here. Kumo is very strict on border security, we were relying on that to keep out any interlopers."

Kakuzu stands up as Naruto lands behind Zetsu, who sinks back into the ground, saying, "Tobi, take the Two Tails and go! I'll use this opportunity to capture the Nine Tails."

Madara, switching back to his Tobi persona, responds, "Okay Kakuzu-san!", moving over to the downed Yugito and placing his hand on her right shoulder.

Naruto blurs forward while unsealing his blade and slices through Tobi as Kakuzu ducks down, but, Naruto's blade just passes right through Tobi, not even leaving a scratch! Kakuzu grabs Naruto by his throat and slams him back into ground, while he's still off guard from the failed attack.

Tobi comments playfully, "Sorry, but I don't like being decapitated. I'd like to play, but I have to go bye-bye now!", waving with his left hand as he sucks Yugito into his right eye!

Naruto yells out in rage, "What did you do to her?!"

Kakuzu tightens his grib on Naruto's throat, causing him to choke as he explains, "Don't worry, you'll be joining her shorty, boy.", while Tobi proceeds to suck himself into his eye.

Naruto is shocked that he can no longer sense Tobi, and then he remembers what both his father and mother told him about a one eyed, masked man using time space jutsu, getting Naruto to choke out, "He's the b-bastard that k-killed my parents!", before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Kakuzu shockingly replies, "What?! A shadow clon-", getting cut off as a wind coated Kubikiribocho pierces his heart and bursts out of his chest!

As Naruto is about to slice upward through Kakuzu's head, knowing about him having multiply hearts, is forced to let go of his blade and jump away as the two masks on Kakuzu's back open their mouths and fire off streams of lightning and water at him.

Landing a few feet back, Naruto yells out, "Where did your boss Madara, take her!"

Kakuzu grunts out in pain and irritation, "So you know about that. You're proving to be a bigger hassle than you're worth! And I'll never tell you where he took the Two Tails, but like I said, you'll join her soon enough.", while yanking out Naruto's blade and closing his wound with his tendrils.

Naruto creates a shadow clone and starts making his rasenshuriken as Kakuzu throws Naruto's blade away and transforms in to a tendril monster. The tendrils pour out of his mouth, ripping off his face mask and forehead protector, extending his arms outward, the masks on his back moving on to his shoulders, and three large bundles of tendrils spreading out from his back.

Meanwhile, Madara appears in a cave with the Gedo statue and Pain waiting for him, ordering out, "We need to hurry and start sealing the Two Tails! I want at least one half of it sealed up before the Konoha Shinobi arrive and take another one from us!"

Pain asks, "What about Kakuzu?"

Madara explains, "He's already lost two of his hearts and is now fight Uzumaki Naruto, he's as good as dead anyways. Lets get to work!", the remaining members appearing in their translucent states on their respective fingers of the gedo statue.

As the sealing jutsu activates and starts extracting the Yin half of the Two Tails, Kisame asks, "What's the hurry? It's not like the Nine Tails can find us all the way out here, your time space jutsu leaves no trail, and you're not even in the Land of Lightning anymore."

Madara responds, "For the Nine Tails to have found us from outside the Land of Lightning, he must have a powerful sensory ability. Most likely similar to the first Nine Tails jinchuuriki host, Uzumaki Mito, and I shouldn't have to remind you that her sensory ability was unparalleled."

Zetsu's darker half replies, "True, she'd have the ability to find just about anyone, no matter how far they ran. But, there is nothing to suggest that the current Nine Tails host has that same ability."

Madara respond, "Consider me being overly cautious. We only have six members left now, and Naruto has proven to be an unexpected hindrance to our plans. The fact that I had to come out of the shadows and take charge of the Akatsuki is proof of that. Now, no more distractions! I want the Yin half extracted in one days time!"

Back with Naruto, he's holding a completed rasenshuriken as several of his clones charge Kakuzu to get a feel for his new forms combat abilities. Based on the information from his clones, he'll need at least three to distract him. While Naruto analyzes Kakuzu, Kakuzu is watching how Naruto's jutsu is disintegrating the rubble that gets pulled into, knowing that he can't let himself get hit by that jutsu. Kakuzu want's to flee this current situation, being down to two hearts is too risky for his taste, so he'll have try and create an opening to flee.

Naruto charges Kakuzu head on as Team Asuma arrives to see Kakuzu's tendrils burst out of the ground and wrap Naruto up and causing his jutsu to dissipate. Looking like they're going to have to intervene to save Naruto, he bursts into smoke, bringing a shocked look to appear on Kakuzu's face as Naruto Hirashin behind him, having placed a mark on his back when he stabbed him. Naruto proceeds to slam the Rasenshuriken into Kakuzu's back, exploding into a vortex of pure destruction, millions of microscopic wind blades shredding Kakuzu's body in to pieces.

As Naruto is thrown backwards from the Rasenshurikens recoil, having wished he'd used a shadow clone for that part, he is caught by Asuma, sliding back several feet and slamming into a large piece of rubble.

Watching in awe as Kakuzu screams in agony, Team Asuma has to cover their faces as extreme wind pressure smacks into them, Ino utters out, "A-amazing! What astounding power!"

Choji adds, "I can feel my skin stinging just from the force of it!"

As the Rasenshuriken fades and Kakuzu's shredded body falls to the ground, all of his tendrils gone, both masks disintegrated, his left arm and right leg gone, Asuma helps Naruto up while commenting, "Well, damn! You made one hell of wind jutsu!"

Naruto chuckles as he responds, "Yeah, but it takes a lot out of me, and if I hadn't built my body up so well, the bones in my arm would be shattered."

Asuma walks past Naruto and heads to the crater that Kakuzu lays in, while ordering, "Ino, check on Naruto. Shikamaru, Choji, check the parameter, I don't want any Kumo shinobi getting the jump on us!"

As his teammates move to do as they're told, Asuma walks down next to the barely alive Kakuzu, who's struggling out, "H-how could I-I lose to a c-child!"

Asuma pulls out one of his trench knives and channels wind chakra into it, forming a long wind blade, and answers, "Because, with every passing generation that inherits our will of fire, they become stronger and stronger. Leaving an old geezer like you in dust, where you belong.", cutting off his head.

Asuma heads back up as Ino heals Naruto, having forced him to sit down, and fortunately only having minor injures and slight fatigue, getting Asuma to ask, "How is he Ino?"

She answers, "Well, he's still an idiot, but otherwise, he'll be fine. A moments rest and he'll be as good as new.", getting Naruto to grumble about not being an idiot.

Asuma breathes out a sigh of relief, and then orders, "Alright, once Naruto's ready to go, I want him to seal up Kakuzu's body, then we haul-ass out of here before any Kumo-nin show up."

Naruto protests, "We can't leave! They took her! We have to hurry and save her before it's too late!"

Ino asks, "Who?"

Naruto answers, "The Two Tails jinchuuriki, I think her names Yugito. The Akatsuki have her and are now extracting her Bijuu as we speak!"

Asuma responds, "No! You've already pushed your luck Naruto! If Kumo-nin find us in their territory uninvited where their jinchuuriki was just taken, it could start a war between our villages, possibly escalating into the Fourth Shinobi War! We leave now!"

Ino stops healing Naruto as he stands and walks over to his Kubikiribocho and reseals it into his arm, then heads over and seals up Kakuzu's dead body in to a storage scroll. Naruto is focusing his sensory ability as far as he can, hoping to pick up Yugito's or Madara's chakra, but gets nothing.

Naruto comments as he begrudgingly follows Team Asuma out of the Land of Lightning, refusing to Hirashin them in the hopes of sensing Yugito's whereabouts, "This is wrong! She's a jinchuuriki like me, but we're abandoning her to die!"

Shikamaru replies, "Look, Naruto. We don't even know where she is, there's no trail and you obviously haven't been able to sense her or the one's who took her, otherwise you'd be running off to save her."

Asuma adds, "This a Kumo matter now, we'll just complicate things by trying help. You already tried reaching out to Kumo about the dangers of the Akatsuki, and they just ignored you. There's nothing more we can do now, I'm sorry Naruto."

Naruto just lowers his head to hide the tears threatening to pour down his face, it seems like lately he is unable to save his fellow jinchuuriki. First Gaara, who's only alive because of Granny Chiyo sacrificing herself to bring him back, and now he was mere inches away from saving Yugito, but failed again! What's the point of killing off the Akatsuki if he can't save any of their victims in the process?"

Choji tries to cheer Naruto up by saying, "Hey, at least we were able to get the evidence needed to bring Danzo to justice, and you killed another member of the Akatsuki! We're doing good work, don't let this one failure, that belongs more to Kumo for not excepting your help, get you down."

Ino chimes in, "Yeah! Don't forget that you also brought back Sasuke-kun while killing Orochimaru! You're ranking in the wins Naruto!"

That brings a small smile to Naruto's face as Shikamaru ask, "Naruto, now that you're done sulking, can you Hirashin us to Kabuto? I'd hate to have to explain why we allowed our prisoner to escape."

Naruto blushes a bit for forgetting, and replies, "Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me find him and I'll take us there.", coming to a stop and closing his eyes to lock on Kabuto's Hirashin mark.

As Team Asuma surrounds him, Naruto says, "Alright, I got him, huh? That's odd."

Shikamaru asks, "What is it?"

Naruto answers, "Well, he's stationary, and he hasn't gotten all that far from the hideout."

Choji guesses, "Maybe he realized that as long as you're still alive, he won't be able to escape?"

Asuma responds, "Whatever the reason, be ready to be walking into a trap. Lets go."

Everyone grabs hold of Naruto right before he Hirashins them to Kabuto's mark, expecting to be attacked, they're surprised not to see Kabuto.

Ino accuses, "Naruto! Stop playing around and take us to Kabuto!"

A confused Naruto replies, "But I did! He should right here! I can still feel his mark!"

Choji asks, "Are you sure? You could be too tired to hit the right mark."

Before Naruto can rebuttal, Shikamaru speaks up, "No, Naruto got the right mark alright. Ah, this is troublesome.", looking down at the ground.

Looking at what Shikamaru is looking at, Ino says, "Eww! Is that what I think is?!"

Naruto bends down to get a better look, seeing a bloody mess of flesh with his Hirashin mark on it, he replies, "Yup! It looks like Kabuto cut out the flesh with my mark on it! That's definitely one way to get ride of the Hirashin mark, but he had to go really deep to make sure, ouch!"

Asuma comments, "And seeing as Kabuto is medical shinobi, he can treat himself so that it doesn't kill him."

Choji asks, "Then does this mean that he got away?"

Asuma nods his head as he says, "Seeing how dried up the blood is and that there isn't any trail, I'd say so. Unless, Naruto, Ino, do either of you sense him?"

They both shake their heads as Asuma orders, "Alright, but lets fan out a bit and see if we can pick up any sign of him, but I highly doubt it."

They fan out to look, with Naruto creating hundreds of clones to go out to look and try using his sensory ability to see if he can pick up anything, but in the end they get nothing. Kabuto's long gone, and Naruto blames himself for this as well, if he hadn't ran off, then Kabuto wouldn't have escaped in the first place. It's like the old saying: when it rains, it pours.

It's been a day since they lost Kabuto and are now regrouping outside of Frost's border, closer to Konoha and farther away from Kumo. They've all decided to call it a bust and head back to Konoha, hoping that retrieving the evidence was enough and that Tsunade won't tear them new ass-holes for letting Kabuto escape. Naruto is feeling even worse now, as he's focusing on his Hirashin marks, searching for the one he placed back in the hidden tunnel under the T&I building. That's when he feels it, an unfamiliar Hirashin mark! Maybe it's one his father made a long time ago? Focusing on it, trying to get a feel for what it's attached to, he feels it! Madara's chakra!

Naruto quickly opens his eyes and yells out, "I found them! Hold on Yugito!", disappearing in an orange flash, leaving a confused and worried Team Asuma.

With Madara and the Akatsuki that are sealing up the Two Tails, Pain informs, "The Yin half has been successfully extracted. Do we continue with the next half Madara?"

Kisame interrupts, "See, I told you that Nine Tails brat wouldn't be able to find us! Now, can we slow it down a bit, this accelerated pace his draining even my reserves too rapidly!"

Madara replies, "I suppose you're right. Lets continue at the normal-", suddenly being interrupted by an orange flash with Naruto appearing in front of Madara!

Naruto hits the ground, taken back by the Gedo Statue and the menacingly powerful chakra emanating from it, as Madara yells out, "What?! How are you- when- no! It can't be!" remembering what Minato told him about the Hirashin mark never disappearing and that he marked him with one during his first attempt to capture the Nine Tails.

Naruto quickly looks up to see Yugito suspended in the air by chakra coming from the statue's mouth as the Two Tails chakra is being ripped from her body. Responding as fast as he can, Naruto throws one of his marked kunai at Yugito, just as Madara jumps down on him.

Madara says victoriously, "Now I have you!", his right hand grabbing Naruto by his left shoulder from behind, using his power to suck in Naruto.

Fortunately, Naruto's marked kunai reaches Yugito just in time for Naruto to Hirashin away from Madara and to Yugito, feeling a pulling sensation from his gut as the Gedo Statue tries to remove his Bijuu, before Hirashin away with Yugito.

Madara yells out in pure fury, "Nooo!"

Pain asks, "How was he able to get here?! We thoroughly checked the Two Tails to make sure she didn't have the Hirashin mark!"

Itachi comments, "She didn't, but it appears our leader, Madara, does. After all, Uzumaki Naruto appeared in front of him, not the Two Tails."

Madara explains as everyone looks at him, "It must have happened when I fought the Fourth Hokage about sixteen years ago. He was able to mark me and prevent me from retrieving the Nine Tails, but I never thought his son would be able to use it after all this time."

Zetsu's white half replies, "Seems like the great Madara made a pretty big mistake. Fortunately, we were able to get what we needed from the Two Tails."

The dark half continues, "But until you find a way to remove that mark, you should no longer participate in sealing the Bijuu in person."

Madara responds, "Agreed. Now Itachi and Kisame get moving on to the Four Tails host Roshi in Iwa. I'll head over to the recently restored Three Tails and capture it."

Getting affirmative responses, Madara disappears in the vortex from his eye, wondering how to remove the irritating mark left by his former sensei.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By: FallenDispair

Chapter: 9

I DON'T OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/12/19**

**Authors Notes: Some people are worried that I've made Ino into a fangirl, which is kind of true, seeing as she always was, but don't worry, she's working through her feelings still. After all, you don't just stop loving someone you've loved for years, it's a process! I've also got people hating on Naruto's impulsive behavior, which will get better, he's going to confront it and get past it, but Naruto will always be Naruto! He'll be better officially, but personally, still the same impulsive idiot we all love, that ends up reaching through the darkness of people's hearts and souls to bring out the good in them. I will say this until I die, I hate stories that try making Naruto a smart emo Sasuke-ish genus, or evil twisted fuck who'll do anything to get what he wants. Naruto's original personality is what I love about his character, he'll get over his anger and even be better at thinking things through, but he'll still have his moments of stupidity and impulsiveness. They are what allows him to often get the jump on his enemies that are constantly scheming like they are undefeatable. Sorry for raving and thanks for the support.**

Tsunade is finally done with the mountain of paperwork for the day, knowing and dreading that tomorrow it will return like a horrible piece of magic/curse, and pulls out a well deserved bottle of Sake from her secret stash. Just as she's about take that first heavenly sip, an orange flash reveals Naruto holding a bloody Yugito in his arms in front of her desk!

As Tsunade practically chokes from surprise, Naruto frantically yells out, "Baa-chan! Hurry! You have to help her! She's a jinchuuriki, and the Akatsuki had her, then Madara- Hirashin seal from my Dad and I-I-"

Tsunade cuts him off while erecting the privacy barrier, and standing up while saying with some heat in her voice, "Naruto! Stop and take a breath! I can't understand what you're saying! What the hell is going on here?! And why is one of Kumo's jinchuuriki in MY OFFICE?!"

Naruto replies while still being a bit upset, "First, you have to help her Baa-chan!"

Tsunade yields ands gestures for Naruto to step back and lay Yugito on the ground so she can examine her, once she kneels down as her hands glow and she starts healing Yugito, Tsunade ask, "Alright Naruto, explain yourself! Do you have any idea how bad this looks?! What would happen if someone was in here with me?! Huh?! And when did you place a Hirashin mark in here?!"

Naruto explains, a little more relaxed, "Well, uh, I placed the mark in here during our last meeting, when there wasn't any Anbu watching me in the shadows. I figured that it'd be a good idea to have one placed in here for emergencies, Ya Know!", crouched down on Yugito's left, opposite Tsunade.

Tsunade gains a tick mark as she replies, "So you actually thought it was a good idea to place a seal that would give you unfettered access to the Hokage's office! Are you an IDIOT?! You are over stepping your bounds Naruto! This is my office, not yours! You are to ask for MY permission to do something like that! Understand?!"

Naruto gulps before rapidly nodding his and apologizing, "S-sorry Baa-chan. I didn't mean to upset you and it won't happen again, I promise! I'll remove it right now."

Tsunade responds as Naruto moves to her desk, "No. It's actually a good idea for you to have a discreet way to enter my office for secret meetings. Like the one we had about Danzo and Kabuto, but you still should have asked first! Anyways, I want you to tell me everything, where Team Asuma is, Kabuto especially, why Kumo's Two Tails jinchuuriki is here, EVERYTHING that happened!"

Getting Naruto to gulp loudly in fear as Tsunade stares daggers at him, Naruto goes into a lengthy explanation of everything that happen on his mission. By the end of it, Tsunade is trembling in pure fury, only keeping her composure to ensure she doesn't make a slip up while healing, what can now be considered a political hostage.

Naruto foolishly asks, "Uh, Baa-chan? Are you alright? You haven't said any-"

Tsunade explodes, having finished healing Yugito and making sure she stays unconscious, "SHUT YOUR TRAP YOU LITTLE BRAT!", causing Naruto to fall on his ass.

Naruto turns pale and shuts his mouth, trying not to make any sudden movements as Tsunade continues to tear him a new asshole, a little less loudly, "Do you realize what your actions have done?! How close your impulsive and idiotic actions lead to starting a WAR?! For the love of KAMI, how many times must we keep telling you to think things through?! Kabuto is out there doing kami knows what and could be spreading the word of Orochimaru's death! He could completely ruin our plans to destroy Oto! You've single handedly compromised our operations, all because of your idiocy! What do you have to say for yourself?! Huh?! I'm WAITING!"

Naruto lowers his head in shame as he despondently answers, "I-I am so sorry. There's no excuse for my actions, it's just that, all I could think of was saving a fellow jinchuuriki. I know that I have issues with my anger and the actions born from them, and that I'm going to have to get past them. Not just for myself, but for everyone around me. I've already hurt Sakura-chan, and now, well, you know how badly I messed up. Kabuto's out there, probably planning revenge for Orochimaru's death and killing people along the way. I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life.", tears streaming down his face.

Tsunade takes a calming breath before responding, her tone becoming gentle, but still firm, "Naruto, I'm happy that you understand what you've done, but talk is just that, talk. You need to work on it now, not plan to, or think about it, but act to change, hopefully before it's late. Look, I'm not saying that your impulsive behavior is entirely bad, after all, it's apart of what saved me and brought me back to the village. It's just that you need to learn when to reel it in, like on missions and when in this office. It's getting ridiculous with how you blatantly ignore the chain of command, I've given you a pass so far, because of how much you mean to me, but no more! You barge into this office again uninvited, without the urgency of a REAL emergency, then I'll have you pulled from active duty! Don't respond, just understand it! Now, you also need to know that you messed up a lot worse than you realize. When you discovered that Madara had your father's Hirashin seal, you should have informed Team Asuma. They could have formulated a plan to have not just save Yugito, but also capture or kill the leader of the Akatsuki. But, due to your impulsive action, he is now aware of it's existence and if he figures out that all he has to do is cut it out of his body like Kabuto did, then you've blown our best weapon against him!"

Naruto looks up at Tsunade in shock, realization of that hits him hard, he thinks that he should just Hirashin back to Madara to kill him, but stops himself. He needs to stop acting impulsively and take a moment to think things through.

Thinking for a moment, Naruto asks, "Then, shouldn't we form a team of our best shinobi and hit him now, while he still hasn't figured it out?"

A bit surprised to see Naruto not only asking first, but also not running off to attack Madara this very instant, Tsunade takes a second to process the question before answering, "As much as I want to say no, you have a valid point. Hmm, alright, go round up Kakashi, Guy, Shikaku, and Neji, then bring them here to PLAN out our attack strategy, and make sure not to be seen, you're suppose to be in Suna. Actually, go get Team Asuma and switch them out with your clones headed to Suna first, then go get the others. Oh, and don't forget to collect the scroll containing the evidence against Danzo."

Naruto asks, "Um, what about Captain Yamato?"

Tsunade answers, "I'm having him stand in for Kabuto so that Danzo won't know he's missing, but it looks like I'm going to have to have Yamato at least switch out with a wood clone every now and again. At least until we recapture Kabuto, or finally make our move on Danzo. No more questions Naruto, go!"

Naruto nods his head and Hirashins to Shikamaru, who's holding one of his marked kunai, getting Ino to yell at him, "Naruto! Where the hell did you go?!", all of Team Asuma looking at him.

Naruto proceeds to fill them in on everything that happened after he left, including Tsunade tearing him a new one and that he's to replace them with their shadow clone doubles that are headed to Suna.

Asuma breaths a sigh of relief, he won't be the one getting belittled by Tsunade, and replies, "Alright, but don't forget how lucky you were. Things could have gone south and fast!", handing over the scroll to Naruto.

Naruto pockets the scroll while responding, "Yes Asuma-sensei! I won't!"

Ino adds, "Damn straight you won't! Otherwise I'll start a rumor that you and Sasuke are caught up in a whirlwind sex affair with each other! Ha!"

Naruto turns blue at the thought, replying, "Alright I swear! Please don't do that! The last thing I need are for homosexual men to start hitting on me again!"

Choji asks in confusion, "You've been hit on by guys?"

Naruto answers, "Yeah, and don't get me wrong, I have no problem with homosexuals, I just don't swing that way. And I really appreciate people not thinking otherwise, INO!"

She just shrugs while answering nonchalantly, "Then don't be such an idiot on the next mission we go on."

Shikamaru cuts in, "Enough chit-chat, lets go already."

Taking Shikamaru's advice they all grab onto Naruto, Ino taking the liberty to sneak a squeeze of Naruto's ass, before he teleports them to his clones. Luckily he had learn that trick before heading out on their covert mission. After saying goodbye, and making a fresh clone with extra chakra to replace the one that was there before, and Hirashins back to Tsunade's office. He hands her the scroll and leaves once she lowers the privacy barrier for him.

Naruto uses his sensory ability to sneak around the village unnoticed and grab everyone Tsunade asked for by Hirashining them into Tsunade's office one at a time, except Guy and Kakashi, Guy was with Kakashi, trying to challenge him again. Once they were all inside the office, Tsunade explained how Naruto saved Yugito, leaving out the covert mission and that it happened in the Land of Lightning, and that they needed to act now before Madara finds a way to block or remove the Hirashin. Shikaku formulates the plan that will have the best chance of success, before heading out with the understanding that they might not all come back alive.

Meanwhile, inside a nondescript cave, Madara is preparing to be attacked by Naruto and possibly a team of highly skilled shinobi. With his trap in place, Madara just waits for Naruto to stumble right into his hands, he'll turn Naruto's greatest weapon against him. Not disappointing, Naruto and his team arrive in an orange flash, each one in a different state of attack, hoping to take Madara by surprise. Only to trigger a death trap that cause's the floor, walls and ceiling to give way, revealing the entire cave is made of explosion tags that wrap around all of them, but Naruto, and start exploding, forcing Naruto to Hirashin away to save himself while screaming out in rage and pain as his friends and sensei die in an almost endless series of explosions!

Madara comments to himself as he reappear out side the giant wall of flames that was once Naruto's team, "That went better than I hoped, some of Konoha's best were in there. That makes things easier for me down the road, eh? Naruto?"

Naruto's standing behind Madara, rage practically oozing from every pour of his being, as he fires off a wind dragon at him, which simply goes right through him, completely unaffected. Naruto roars in agony as he blindly charges Madara in a full frontal assault of taijutsu. All his kicks, punches, and even wind coated kunai, fail to do any damage. Madara grabs Naruto by his throat and slams him into the ground hard enough for it to crack underneath him. Then while looking Naruto in his eyes, Madara casts a powerful genjutsu on Naruto, forcing him asleep.

Lifting the now unconscious Naruto off his feet, Madara says victoriously, "Your mine now Naruto! You've only proven to be an impulsive, anger filled, little boy who never stood a chance against me! No matter how impressive your skills and abilities are, as long as you can't maintain a level head in battle, you'll never be anything but an inexperienced loser-"

Madara is cut off as a chidori bursts through his torso, avoiding his vitals, getting him to drop Naruto, who's caught by Guy.

Madara turns his head to see Kakashi and Naruto standing behind him, Kakashi's hand through his torso and Naruto disappearing into a cloud of smoke, uttering out, "H-How are you- when- T-this is impossible!"

As Shikaku and Neji walk out of the surrounding woods, Guy is releasing Naruto from the genjutsu and Shikaku is connecting his shadow to Madara's while answering, "It's simple really. We knew that you'd have a trap set up for us, but we also knew that you wouldn't kill Naruto. You still need the Nine Tails inside of him, so, Naruto purposely walked into your trap with transformed shadow clones, so you'd think that you'd have killed us as he fled. But really, you just killed a bunch of clones while Naruto Hirashined back to our location in Konoha to inform us that the next phase was ready."

Guy takes over, "Naruto Hirashined behind you as you reappeared out here and threw a marked kunai into the nearby woods. That was where another one of his shadow clones Hirashined me, Neji, and Shikaku, with you being none the wiser."

Kakashi then continues, "Once Naruto's clone that brought Guy's team over was given the signal by Neji, who was using his Byakugan to observe Naruto's little show, he dissipated to inform the clone with me when to Hirashin us behind you, so I could strike with my already primed chidori."

The now conscious Naruto stands up on his own and says, "What? Did you honestly think that was all I had? I mean, seriously, I've killed three of your members, well, one is just sealed away seeing as he's immortal, but still! Come on!"

Shikaku orders, "Enough Naruto, place the seal on him so we can take him back with us to be interrogated."

Just as Naruto is about to do just that, he senses a sudden chakra signature coming from beneath Kakashi, getting him to yell out, "Kakashi-sensei! MOVE NOW!"

Kakashi narrowly avoids being punctured by earth spikes, forcing him to remove his hand from Madara's torso, and Shikaku to break his hold. As Madara falls to his knees, Zetsu comes out of the ground, like it's apart of him, making Naruto wonder how he wasn't able to sense him until he was firing a jutsu at Kakashi.

Zetsu's dark half scolds, "Now, now, I can't let you take the most important piece of the Akatsuki. And you, Madara, you should have had Pain aid you in setting this little trap."

The light half continues, "But no, your ego wouldn't let you. You thought you could take them all on your own."

Dark Zetsu adds, "Now look at you! Just be thankful that we're always watching and have spar flesh for you."

Neji ask, while his Byakugan is active, "Do you honestly think we're letting you go?!"

Zetsu mocks, "But of course, it's not like you have any other choice.", as white Zetsu's start to appear on all of there bodies!

Guy ask, "What are these things?!", while trying to pull and punch the Zetsu's off him, with no avail.

Naruto warns, "They seem to be stealing our chakra!"

Neji clarifies, "They seemed to have sprouted off of us while leaching our chakra! We need to remove them before they suck us dry!"

As they struggle to free themselves, the dark Zetsu orders, "Lets go before you bleed to death. Those spores won't hold them for long."

Madara replies, "Don't treat me like a child! Sure, I underestimated them, but, thanks to Kakashi's chidori I no longer have the Hirashin mark."

Kakashi asks, "Naruto, is that true?!", struggling with his own Zetsu spores.

Naruto concentrates before answering, "Damn! That must have been where my dad placed the mark!"

Dark Zetsu clarifies while scolding Madara, "We recently learned that it can be remove by cutting out the attached flesh. If you hadn't been so full of yourself, we could have easily replaced that little amount, but now, it'll take a lot more. Plus with your injuries, you're going to be useless for a long while as well."

Madara responds, "Humph, whatever. Lets go.", disappearing into the vortex from his right eye as Zetsu follows suite by merging with the ground.

Naruto and Neji are shock how they just disappear without a trace, Naruto from sensing it, and Neji by seeing it.

It takes several minutes for them to completely remove the white Zetsu's from their bodies, getting Naruto to yell out in frustration, "Damn it! We had him! Only to lose him to these stupid plant people things! What are they and where'd they come from?!"

Neji answers as best he can, "I'm not sure what they are, but from what I saw with my Byakugan, they were already on us before they appeared, growing from small seed like states to these man sized things by feeding off our chakra."

Shikaku replies, "Then the question is when they got on us, and how, but we can safely assume that it's a jutsu by that Zetsu character. We should take these things back with us for Lady Tsunade to examine. Naruto, seal them up in separate storage scrolls, and for reasons of safety I want you to then seal those scrolls into one sealed scroll."

Naruto responds, "Sure thing Shikamaru's dad!", going about his newly given task without question.

Neji corrects Naruto, "Naruto, his name is Lord Shikaku, remember? Try and be a little more respectful to your elders.", Naruto just waves him off as Shikaku is mentally berating about not being that old.

Kakashi is lost in his thoughts, he can't help but feel some sort of familiarity to Madara. He can't place a finger on exactly what it is, but the way he disappeared into that vortex seemed similar to his Kamui. It can't be, can it, Kakashi's hand going to his left eye, a fearful thought entering his mind, could he still be-.

Guy snaps Kakashi out of his thoughts, "Hey Kakashi. Are you alright? You seem shaken up. You don't need to worry about Madara getting away, his comrade got the jump on all of us! So cheer up! Our flames of youth still burn brightly! We'll take him down next time, and that's a given!", laughing cheerfully as he place a hand on Kakashi's left shoulder.

Kakashi sighs before replying, "Yeah, sure Guy. Now lets go and report back to Lady Hokage.", concern still present in his demeanor as he can't help but hope he's wrong.

Meanwhile, at the bone graveyard, Madara's main hideout, inside an underground chamber is Zetsu helping Madara to a table that he lays down on as soon as he reaches it. Removing his mask, blood soaked cloak and shirt, then laying down as Zetsu goes off to get the replacement flesh for him.

Madara waits for Zetsu's return as a shadowy figure moves towards him, creeping through the shadows until it's upon him, stopping as Madara asks, "What are you doing here?", not at all concerned.

The figure steps out to show a white spiral being with one empty right eye socket, answering, "Oh, come on meat-bag, don't we go way back. I'm here to see if you're ok, and I do have to say that Stupid Kakashi really did a number on you, Obito."

Obito looks up at him with his spiral scared face and replies, "You're not suppose to call me that. Until the real Madara is revived, I'm Uchiha Madara, remember?"

Spiral face being answers, "Yeah, yeah. But, seriously, you shouldn't have let your guard down like, we've invested far too much into you for you to be killed off now. Just be glad your made of the same Senju flesh as us, or you'd probably be dead like any other meat-bag."

Obito responds flippantly, "Yeah, but I'm not whirly face! Besides, now I'm free of that pesky Hirashin mark."

Said Whirly Face give Obito the finger as Zetsu returns with cultivated Senju flesh and the dark half scolds, "Don't act so full of yourself Obito, only half of your body has Senju flesh from the Gedo Statue, which we've had to replace several times due to rejection and damage. Your Kamui, as powerful as it is, causes damage to it every time you use it to phase into your separate dimension. Then the time it takes for it to properly merge with the rest of your body is taking longer each time! With this new damage added on top of it, you'll be out of commission for quite a while."

Obito replies, "True, but we're still progressing as planned, despite the setbacks. If it gets any worse, then we'll just have Nagato take a more active role in hunting the jinchuuriki."

Whirly Face warns, "He does have the power to get the job done, but he's crucial to reviving Madara, so we shouldn't risk him if we don't have to."

The white half of Zetsu responds, "Relax, Obito's a good boy, he'll succeed."

The dark half replies, "He better. Now, lets get to work on replacing your damaged flesh."

In Konoha the sun is starting to rise on a new day as Tsunade is receiving the report on Naruto's team's failure in capturing or killing the Akatsuki leader.

Shikaku ends on, "It's really my own fault for trying to put capturing Madara over neutralizing him. If I would have had Kakashi go for the kill shot, then the Akatsuki's leader would be dead, but now he's alive and free of the Hirashin mark."

Tsunade replies sincerely, "No, it's not your fault, any of your faults, that this mission failed. It was a long shot in the first place, and besides, capture was the right approach. We still don't know the Akatsuki's endgame, and there's no guarantee that with Madara's death that they'd stop moving towards that end."

Kakashi responds, "True, they could have a chain of command that would have someone ready to take his place."

Naruto adds, "It still sucks that we dropped the ball on this one, and no matter what anyone says, I know this is my fault."

Neji tries to cheer Naruto up by saying, "That's not true Naruto, we were all there and he still got away."

Naruto counters, "That's only because I went off half cocked and ruined the element of surprise in my haste to save Yugito."

Guy chimes in, "That's true Naruto, but don't let that mistake extinguish your flames of youth! Only by learning from our failures do we truly become stronger, allowing our youth to explode!", ending with his good guy pose.

Tsunade agrees, "Guy's right Naruto, it's good that you're learning to reel in your anger and impulsive behavior, but don't let your passion as a shinobi fade out while doing it. Remember, you need to find a solid middle ground, not go from one extreme to the other. Now lets call it day, I'll take the scroll you gave me on the Zetsu clones and personally analyze them. Naruto, go back and join Team Asuma in Suna, then once you've finished delivering my message to the Kazekage, Hirashin them back to Konoha's main gate and report back in. The rest of you are dismissed."

Receiving affirmative responses, Naruto Hirashins away and as the others head on to their respective homes. Once alone, Tsunade lets out a stress filled sigh, knowing that she still has to deal with Yugito, while making sure Danzo and the other elders don't know about having her. Then she still has to sort through the evidence on Danzo, which brings up the problem of Kabuto's escape and how to best explain that. In short, there's a big shit-storm of problems headed her way, but for now, a warm bottle of sake awaits her.

Naruto has just Hirashined Team Asuma back to Konoha after delivering the message on possible Chunin Exam participants and location ideas, a usually sought after bit of information, so it can explain away why Naruto's group was sent out in the middle of the night to deliver it. Naruto had arrived before they made it to Suna, so he dispelled his clone and walked the rest of the way. Once they delivered the information, they stayed the night to rest, which Naruto desperately needed, he was drained emotionally from having to reevaluate his resent actions, having come to the decision to change how he handles himself. This showed it's self when Team Asuma went to report back to Tsunade, Naruto waited patiently for her to let them in, instead of just barging in unannounced like he usually does.

Once her office door closes and locks, Tsunade erects the privacy barrier and orders, "Alright, I've already received Naruto's report on what happened, now I want all of yours as well."

Asuma, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji all gave their accounts of the mission in keen detail, ending with Asuma asking, "So, when are we going to move on Danzo and the Foundation?"

Tsunade answers, "Not yet. We need to weed out a few more details, like how many Root members Danzo has and where he has them placed. Then a full work up on his base of operations, and hidden tunnels, escape ways, and so on. I don't won't him worming his way out of this mess, and trust me, we'll only get one shot a taking him down, we don't want to blow it! So, you're all here by ordered to stay completely silent on what you know about Danzo until I say otherwise, understood?"

Asuma answers for them all there, "Understood Milady."

Tsunade replies, "Good. Your all dismissed. Naruto, not you, I need to have a word."

Team Asuma leaves, closing the door behind them, getting Naruto to ask, "What is it Baa- I mean Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade smiles warmly as she replies, "Naruto, I'm glad that your finally showing me the proper respect of my position, but when it's just us, you don't have to be formal."

Naruto smiles back and responds, "Alright Baa-chan!"

Tsunade gets to the point, "Naruto, I need you to take Yugito and drop her off along the Land of Lightning's border and come right back, leave no evidence that you were there."

Naruto argues, "I'm just suppose to leave her in the middle of nowhere and hope someone friendly finds her passed out! That's too dangerous! Hasn't she been through enough!"

Tsunade sighs, having expected such a reaction from him, and responds, "Look, after her abduction, all of Kumo is on guard and has a large number of their shinobi looking all over for her. They'll most likely find her first, besides, she's better off taking that risk then if Danzo was to discover she was here. He, along with most of the Jonin Council, would want to either extract her Bijuu or use her as a bargaining chip against Kumo. So, as the Hokage, I order you to drop her off near Kumo's border."

Naruto bits his tongue and replies, "Yes ma'am!"

Tsunade smiles, happy to see Naruto actually showing restraint and doing as he's told, before standing up and ordering, "Come along, she's in my personal quarters with Shizune watching over her."

Naruto follows Tsunade to her quarters where he finds Shizune sitting besides an unconscious Yugito. Naruto, not happy with his orders, just walks past Tsunade and Shizune to pick Yugito up into his arms and Hirashins away.

Reappearing at the Oto hideout in Frost, where Kabuto escaped, Naruto proceeds to carry Yugito as close to Lightning's border as possible. After all, Tsunade said near the Land of Lightning's border, she never specified how close. As Naruto is walking to the border, Yugito stirs awake in his arm, her eyes slowly opening to see Naruto carrying her, but more importantly, she feels her body pressed up against his. Her head resting on his strong and firm shoulder, his right arm wrapped around her back with is hand firmly planted on her upper right arm, her legs being held up by his left forearm with his hand on her upper leg.

Naruto feels Yugito stir and looks down and to his right, to see her eyes wide open with a prominent blush on her face, and says, "Uh, hi. I'm Naru-", getting cut off by Yugito elbowing him the face with her left arm and jumping out of his grasp.

Landing in a crouched position with her finger nails elongated, Yugito yells out in confused fury, "Who are and what the hell do you think you're doing holding me like that?! Wait! Where's the Akatsuki?! Your one of them, aren't you?! Don't think that I, Ni'i Yugito will just surrender without a fight!", flaring her chakra to only have the flow suddenly stop and fall to one knee, only saving herself from hitting the ground face first by holding herself up with her right arm.

Naruto raises his hands in an attempt to placate Yugito, while calmly explaining, "Whoa, relax. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine Tails jinchuuriki, and I saved you from the Akatsuki before they could finish extracting your Bijuu. We're in the Land of Frost, and I was on the way to the Land of Lightnings border to drop you off. I'm not trying to hurt you, I promise."

Yugito narrows her eyes to gauge Naruto and his story, thinking about the last thing she remembered. Which was looking into the eye of that ridiculous orange masked Akatsuki member, then nothing, her memory ends there. Focusing harder on that memory, she realizes that what she saw in that man's eye was Sharingan! That's why she lost consciousness, he must have captured her in a powerful genjutsu! Then to wake in the strong-, the arms of someone clamming to be the Nine Tails' jinchuuriki. Trying not to think about how hard his body felt pressed up against hers.

Shaking off the blush and forcing herself to stand, Yugito asks, "If that's true, then prove that you're really a jinchuriki! Show me your seal! Or better yet, channel some of the Bijuu's chakra!"

Naruto lifts up his jacket and shirt to reveal his seal while replying, "Here's my seal, but I won't channel any of the Fox's chakra! I can't control it very well, and I don't want to end up hurting you."

Yugito responds, "Likely story! And that seal could be fake!"

Naruto yells back, "It's not fake! Take a closer look if you don't believe me!"

Yugito pulls out a kunai and cautiously approaches Naruto while warning him, "No sudden movements, or I'll kill you.", her voice deadly serious.

Naruto just stands there, not moving a muscle, even when she places her right hand on his abs and starts examining his seal, while the kunai in her left hand is placed at genitals. Worry sinks in as he can feel the point poking his equipment, afraid that she'll stab him in a place that'd he'd rather not have harmed above all else, it's practically a universal thought among all men that they'd rather die then live without their penis.

Yugito is feeling his seal to make sure it's not some sort of ink, paint, or tattoo. Getting closer to better examine it, poking her kunai deeper into Naruto's penis, her face is mere inches from his seal, her breath tickling his skin. It's not ink or paint, that's for sure, but now she needs to really feel the skin and watch how the markings react to her touch to see if it's just an elaborate tattoo. She presses her fingers against is tan skin as her nails drag across him, feeling no texture to the seal or seeing any change in it's color that'd indicate that it's a tattoo, it must be real. Even with her realizing that it's a real seal, Yugito keeps feeling Naruto up, losing herself to feel of his steal like abs, the warmth of his skin, and the incredibly sexy look of his six pack that seems to be drawing her eyes down toward his pelvis.

Naruto coughs, getting her to snap out her trance with a blush on her face as Naruto asks, "Are you done? I'm afraid that any closer and you'll cut my stuff, if you know what I mean."

Yugito looks down to see her kunai pressing against the outline of a monster sized penis, she's not sure how that happened, she was aiming for his femoral artery. She's never personally seen a penis large enough to be blocking her kunai from hitting that mark!

Naruto is becoming more and more concerned as Yugito is just staring at his stuff and not removing the very sharp blade that's poking it, voicing his concern, "Um, Yugito-san, ah, could you please remove the sharp kunai away from my stuff!"

Yugito pulls her thoughts out of the gutter and removes the kunai while standing up, answering, "I-I was just making sure that you weren't lying to me! Lucky for you, it seems that you really are a jinchuuriki, so your story might just be true."

Naruto responds with a bit of exasperation in his voice, "Oh come on! I let you feel me up at knife point! I haven't tried to do anything to you! If I was trying to harm you, I would have already! Hell, I'm an Uzumaki! I could have sealed up your chakra while you were unconscious! Oh, and lets not forget that all of your injuries are healed! How do you think that happened?!"

Yugito opens her mouth to respond, but stops as she has no rebuttal to give. Everything he said was true, even the fact that all her wounds are healed and she does still have access to her chakra.

Those thoughts get Yugito to ask, "Why am I here then? If it was the Raikage that had you saved, then you're Bijuu would be removed and sealed inside one of our own shinobi. I can't see why any Kage of any village would let a jinchuuriki slip through their hands. Sure we have a peace treaty in place, but that doesn't mean we're friendly!"

Naruto explains, "Because this wasn't a decision made my village or the Hokage, I made it. I went off mission and ran to your aid, which lead to a prisoner getting free and my ass getting crewed out, but I couldn't let a fellow jincuuriki die! I just don't get it! Why do all the hidden villages have to be so hateful towards each other that they'll let the Akatsuki go around killing us! Aren't we forced to be jinchuuriki because we're suppose to be military assets for our village?! So why just abandon us out of hate and mistrust?!"

Yugito corrects Naruto, "Hey! That might be how it is in other villages, but not in Kumo! Sure, when I first started my training as a jinchuuriki I was met with fear and hate, but once I proved myself, I became a honored and respected Kuniochi of my village. It helps that Killer Bee paved the way by doing the impossible, actually befriending the Eight Tails, and allowing him full access to it's power! The only reason that I was alone when I got captured, was that I was trying to lure them into a trap, which admittedly backfire. I guarantee you that the Raikage has sent out a massive search party for me, and not just to reclaim a weapon!"

Naruto gives her a smile as he replies, "Good, I'm glad to see that there are other jinchuuriki that have found happiness like I have, but is it really true that Killer Bee actually befriended his Bijuu?!"

Yugito answers with her tone brimming in pride and confidence, "Of course! He's one of the very few to ever gain complete control of a Bijuu, and the only one to do so by becoming friends with it. Also, I have excellent control of my Bijuu's chakra as well, sure not like Bee's, but I can willingly transform into the Two Tails full form and maintain control, even reverting back at will. So it's not just that Kumo's treatment of jinchuuriki are better, but we also are stronger as well!"

Naruto asks, "How?! Can you teach me or at least give me a hint!", desperation clearly present in his voice.

Yugito thinks about it, he's a Konoha shinobi, but also a fellow jinchuuriki and that comes with a shared type of pain. She didn't tell him that the training she was forced to go through was horrendous, she still has chills when she remembers it, so she knows what it's like to suffer as a jinchuuriki. Then he did save her life, and without any ulterior motives, but unfortunately, the process they use requires access to a hidden temple on one of Kumo's most sacred and best kept secrets, so she can't help him there. She could tell him the most important part of controlling a Bijuu's chakra, there's no harm in that.

Then Yugito gets a good look at Naruto, and she definitely likes what she sees, not to mention that he's hung, causing a more fun way of thanking him to enter her mind, it has been a long time since she had that particular itch scratched, but stops when she thinks about his age and that he's a Konoha-nin. The first part isn't that big a concern, after all, once you put on the forehead protector of your village and become a shinobi, you're practically an adult from then on. Plus, he's got to be like sixteen anyways, the legal age of consent in the elemental nations is over thirteen, and marriage age is around sixteen without parental consent. The second problem though is the deal breaker, unless Kumo and Konoha suddenly decide to put their past histories aside and become full allies, a relationship, even just a sexual one would be frowned upon on both sides. Unless one of them would be willing to defect to the other side, that is, but she'd never betray her home and Naruto seems very loyal to his.

Then again, who'd know that she had a one nightstand with a Konoha shinobi, it's not like anyone's around, but the Raikage would insist that she be given a thorough check up, and the doctors would know that she'd recently had sex. Maybe she could lie and say she was raped? No, that just belittles those that really have been raped, and it'd infuriated the Raikage. Wait! Naruto said he's from the Uzumaki clan, which means she can have her cake and eat it too. She can scratch her itch and clam that after she was rescued by the Nine Tails jinchuuriki, she saw an opportunity to steal the Uzumaki bloodline by tricking him into having sex with her. Though, she wouldn't be able to use the anti-pregnancy jutsu if she wanted to sell that story, the doctors can tell when that jutsu has been used. So, she'd have to risk actually getting pregnant, nope that's not what she wants, but fortunately it's her safe period, no ova to fertilize.

Yugito walks over to Naruto while swaying her hips erotically, stopping right in his face and wrapping her arms around his neck while saying seductively, "Sure thing, tall, dark, and handsome, but only if you can get this kitty to purr."

Normally Naruto would be asking what kitty, but he's been overly active in the sex department with Fuu, so he knows exactly what she means.

Gulping, Naruto asks, "Really? That's what you want from me?", causing Jiraiya to suddenly get angry at Naruto on the other side of the elemental nations.

Yugito gives him a sly smile as her right hand sneaks it way to his hardening equipment, gripping it as she answers, "Yesss, and from the impressive hardening going on in your pants, I'd say so do you."

Naruto's not used to a woman being this forward, well, except for Fuu, but who knew that there are others like her, causing him to stutter out in response, "Y-yeah, b-but I'm a-already in a r-relationship with Fuu-chan and H-Hinata-chan."

Yugito stops rubbing Naruto's length and asks in surprise, "How are you in a relationship with two women at the same side? Usually, that's called cheating, so why would you care now with me?!"

Naruto answers, "Well, that's because I'm reviving the Uzumaki clan through the C.R.A and-"

Yugito interrupts, "It requires you to have multiple partners to produce more offspring."

Naruto smiles as he continues, "Yup! But I'm not looking to just sleep around, I promised both of them that I'd only sleep with women that are going to join our clan, so unless you want to become a member of the Uzumaki clan, I just can't. Sorry."

Yugito thinks it over for a second, she has just learned valuable information that the Raikage will want to hear, then she replies, "Hmm, okay, but only if you can get me to purr the largest I've ever had, then sure, but if you fail then I leave afterwards, I'll even still give you the hint to controlling Bijuu chakra. Deal?"

Naruto responds by kissing her and grabbing her by her butt cheeks, which she reciprocates by grinding her sex into his. The forested area near the Land of Lightning's border is filled with pleasure filled moans, grunts, and the sound of slapping flesh until nightfall, about six hours later.

Meanwhile, back with Tsunade and Shizune, right after Naruto left, Tsunade turns and leaves while ordering Shizune, "I want you to send a message to Jiraiya for me. Tell him that it's time for Naruto to take a trip to Mount Myoboku."

Shizune asks in concern, "Are you sure Milady? Isn't a little too soon for Naruto to try and learn Senjutsu, it can be very dangerous, right?"

Tsunade stops and answers, "Yes, Senjutsu is dangerous to learn, not to mention exceptionally difficult, but Naruto is running out of time. His seal will give out in less than half a year, and hopefully Senjutsu can help him learn to control his anger. Besides, I know that Naruto will succeed and master senjutsu, I believe in him."

Shizune bows while replying, "Yes Milady! I'll send word right away! Oh! One more thing, I meant to tell you earlier, but things got very hectic and I forgot! That surprise for Naruto has arrived and will be in your office come tomorrow morning."

Tsunade smiles and responds, "Good, but with Naruto's actions lately, I'm almost tempted to not to give it to him, but it's too late now anyways. Be sure to summon Naruto to my office tomorrow morning after the surprise arrives."

Shizune asks, "Um, but Lady Tsunade, isn't Naruto going to be back any minute now? Can't you just tell him then?"

Tsunade chuckles at Shizune's cluelessness, before answering, "No, I won't be able to, because Naruto's going to be awhile."

Confusing Shizune even further, she asks, "Huh? I thought he was just suppose to drop her off near the border, then return immediately, right?"

Tsunade explains, "Yes, that's what I said, but I didn't specify how close to the border. He'll most likely take her right up to the border where he senses the most chakra signatures, and then set off a smoke bomb or something. He'll probably wait until tomorrow to inform me of what he did, afraid of making me any angrier after his big mistakes with Kabuto and Yugito. Naruto's acting more seriously and better behaved, but he's still Naruto."

Shizune smile as she responds, "I guess your right, he is and always will be Naruto."

Tsunade adds, "And lets just hope he doesn't do anything too stupid to mess it up.", bringing a slight fear to the both of them.

Back with a fully satisfied Yugito, which after the six hour sex-a-thong, she's finishing getting dressed as Naruto just now puts on his boxers. Naruto knows that with all the orgasms he gave Yugito, she'll definitely be joining his family and helping him learn to control the Nine Tails' chakra, if the claw marks on his back are any indicator.

Yugito stretches her body out while feeling the delicious sensations of the after effects of the pleasure that surged her body, not having expected Naruto to be so good at it, and says, "Hmm, that was amazing! I'm going to miss feeling that good!"

A confused Naruto asks, "Huh?! I thought that I gave you the largest orgasm you ever had, right? So, now you're going to join my clan, right?!", while looping his pants around his ankles.

Yugito answers, "Well, you definitely delivered on your end, so, here, the trick to gaining control of your Bijuu's chakra is to first conquer your own negative emotions. Any trace of anger, malice, sadness, and emptiness, then the Bijuu will seize those feelings inside you and amplify them to the point that your mind degrades and you surrender to it's will."

Naruto stops pulling up his pants at his knees and adds, "And now you'll becoming back with me to Konoha as my new soon to be wife."

Yugito just smile as she juggles a scroll in her right hand and replies, "Nope. I'm headed back to Kumo to report back in on what happened, and how I tricked the Nine Tails jinchuuriki into impregnating me with the Uzumaki bloodline, who also happens to be the Fourth Hokage's son. So, thinks for that, the information on Konoha's reviving the Uzumaki clan, and oh, this scroll containing a powerful sealing jutsu of your own design. Thanks again for saving me, bye!", dropping a smoke bomb as she rushes across the border and into the Land of Lightning, knowing he can't cross that line to catch her.

Naruto fumbles forward as he tries to grab Yugito, his pant's still at his knees, Naruto was quite literally caught with his pants down! Sensing that she's already passed the border, he knows now that he can't do anything to stop her, well, not without possibly causing a war, so he'll just have to let her go, he's not making that mistake again.

Though, he apparently made a whole new series of mistakes by sleeping with Yugito. Shit! Naruto never thought that a women would lie to get into his pants, wow, that must be what it's like for women that guys do that to. But that's not fair! He never did anything like that to anyone, so why him?! Oh, right, he started thinking with his little head instead of the big one connect to his neck. Baa-chan is so going to kill him!

Yugito is happy with herself, not only did she get to have mind blowing sex, she'll be able to claim that she did it for the benefit of her village, while knowing all along that she's not going to get pregnant. Then the added boon of Naruto's loose lips, that she thoroughly enjoyed for hours, let slip that Konoha is working on reviving the Uzumaki clan. Plus the scroll she was able to swipe from Naruto, from what she was able to tell from looking at it, it's some sort of powerful sealing jutsu. She does feel bad for using Naruto like that, he did save her, but it's best he learn this lesson from her than some assassin trying to kill him, besides, only the stealing of the scroll was true, the rest was just theatre to better sell her claims to the Raikage.

Unfortunately, what Yugito failed to take into account is that she was having half her Bijuu sealed for one whole day, and another day spent healing in Konoha. So, thinks to that miscalculation, Yugito will later learn that it wasn't her safe period, and Naruto is VERY fertile!

It was late, so Naruto decided to just Hirashin home and sleep, then report in to Tsunade about what happened with Yugito. He did end up running into Fuu, they do share a bed after all, where he told her everything about sleeping with Yugito, and how he was sorry for being tricked by her. Fuu was furious, but not at Naruto, she already trusts him to find women to bring into the harem, what angers her is that Yugito is most likely going to have Naruto's first child!

She was suppose to have that honor, seeing as she got the whole harem, clan restoring thing going in the first place. Plus, she didn't like Yugito using sex to manipulate Naruto, that was her job! Men, so easy to control with sex, but now that Naruto is aware of it, she'll have to tone it down a bit, just so that he doesn't catch on. That doesn't stop her from enjoying Naruto that night, if anything, Fuu put a lot more effort in fucking Naruto's brains out, wanting to erase any trace of Yugito that might still be on him.

Meanwhile, in the cover of darkness, a cloaked figure is approaching a cave in a hidden location, only to have large pink crystal pillars come crashing down on the figure, forcing the figure to dodge them. While back flipping to avoid them, a sudden barrage of crystal snowflake kunai rain down on the figure! The figure channels chakra into his hands to form chakra blades and deflects them while falling back towards a cave.

Landing on the ground safely as the barrage stops, the figure turns around and says, "Not a very friendly greeting Guren!"

Sinister laughter echo's out of the caves entrance as a figure walks forward, replying, "Oh, it's only you Kabuto. I thought it might be an enemy intruder or something."

Revealing a fair skinned woman wearing red lipstick, having dark eyes and light blue hair which she keeps in a spiky ponytail with long strands framing her face. Her outfit consists of a green dress with a long left sleeve and a short right one, and a white camellia pattern on the back and lower left leg area, a red turtle-neck which has a white, fluffy collar and brown gloves. Under the dress, she wears a one piece red suit, and is wearing calf-length brown sandal boots, and a white tied rope-belt like Orochimaru's.

The now identified Kabuto responds while correcting his glasses, " Right, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Guren replies in fake ignorance, "Of course not. Besides, anyone that could be killed that easily is unworthy to stand at the side of Lord Orochimaru. Don't you think?"

Kabuto responds, "Yes, only the most loyal and powerful should serve Lord Orochimaru."

Guren mocks, "And you think that you're worthy of such a position?"

Kabuto answers, "I don't think anything, Lord Orochimaru was the one who said so, just like he said to me that I'm to go here to give you his orders."

That brings a joyful response from Guren, "Lord Orochimaru has a mission for me?! Yes! I knew he wouldn't forget about me in this dingy little place! Hurry, what is it that my great lord asks?!"

Kabuto explains, "Well, you see, Lord Orochimaru was critically injured by Uchiha Sasuke's betrayal and he-"

Guren explodes in mixed rage and worry, "What?! Is he okay?! Damn it! I knew that filthy Uchiha was untrustworthy and not fit to be Lord Orochimaru's next vessel! I'll torturing that little shit until he begs for forgiveness, then kill him!"

Kabuto replies, "No you won't Guren! Lord Orochimaru has a more important task for you!"

Guren impatiently asks, "What could possibly be more important?!"

Kabuto explains, "You have been selected as a possible replacement for Sasuke, along with myself."

Guren scoffs, "You! HA! If anyone is worthy of being Lord Orochimaru's next vessel, it's ME!"

Kabuto removes his hood to show how his face has begun to shift into that of a white snakes and Orochimaru's eye markings on his left side, he then further explains, "Lord Orochimaru has gifted me with some of his power and flesh. I can feel his will trying to over take mine, and if I survive, then I'll become his next vessel, but if I fail, then you'll be next to be tested by Lord Orochimaru. I honestly thought that it's unnecessary, but Lord Orochimaru insisted that you be given a chance too."

Guren happily replies, "Of course I deserve a chance! I'm far more worthy than you! What is it that I must do?"

Kabuto answers, "Firstly, I'll need to take a blood sample to prepare the transfer, but before you can be excepted, you must first carry out a mission to capture the Three Tails Bijuu. If you succeed, then you'll be seen as a worthy vessel for Lord Orochimaru."

Guren smiles smugly while replying, "Just tell me where to go and I'll succeed without fail!"

Kabuto responds, "Good, but you're to also test the power of a young man that Orochimaru experimented on. His name is Yukimaru, you're to protect him as he uses his power to control the Three Tails, which will help you capture it."

Guren agrees, "Fine take me to the boy!"

Kabuto replies, "In time, but first, you are going to have to make the prisoners here fight to the death, then form a team with the survivors, who'll assist you in capturing the Three Tails."

Guren sadistically smiles while saying ecstatically, "Great! I can't wait for the slaughter!", laughing as she goes to inform all her prisoners that they have the opportunity to serve the great Lord Orochimaru.

Back in Konoha the next day, after Naruto's usual morning routine, he finds an Anbu waiting for him as he's headed to train with the rest of his team. The Anbu informs him that he is to report in to the Hokage, which he was hoping to avoid, and ends up having to part with Fuu to head off to another ass chewing.

Naruto is let into the Hokage's office by Shizune, and as he's left alone with Tsunade, she orders, "Alright Naruto, what did you do now?"

Naruto bashfully answers while scratching the back of his head, "Well, ah, you see, you didn't really say how close to the border to drop Yugito off at, so I was planning to leave her as close as possible and near some chakra signatures. Then setting off a large smoke bomb to get their attention and then Hirashin away once verifying that they were Kumo-nin, but, well, you see, there was this, ah, problem."

Tsunade pinches the bridge of her nose as she replies irritably, "Please don't tell me that you got into a fight with Kumo-nin along their border!"

Naruto quickly calms her by saying, "What?! No, no, no, no! I didn't get into any fights last night, I swear!"

Tsunade breaths a sigh of relief, then asks, "Then what was the problem you ran into?"

Naruto dreads what's going to happen next, but proceeds to inform her about everything he did with Yugito, minus the more explicit details of the sex they had.

Tsunade gains a tick mark on her forehead as she feels a massive migraine forming, yelling out in anger, "NARUTO! Are you an idiot?! No, don't answer that! Your actions more than prove that fact! Of course she was lying to you! It's common practice for single kuniochi to, if they're will, to sleep with kekkei genkai carrying shinobi from other villages to steal it for their village! Now Kumo has not only the Uzumaki bloodline, but the first ever child to be conceived between two jinchuuriki! I can't even imagine the rare qualities that child will possess, but it's not good! Oh, and lets not forget the fact that she stole the tetragram seal formula you created!"

Naruto responds, "Sorry Baa-chan. I just thought that-"

Tsunade cuts him off by saying, "Thinking?! Oh on, that was the last thing you were doing! Like your perverted Master Jiraiya, and most men in the world, your were too busy thinking with the little head in your pants! So don't try giving me any lame excuse!"

Naruto nods his head and asks despondently, "Then, what are we going to do about it?"

Tsunade takes a few calming breaths before answering, "Nothing. There is nothing we can do without admitting that Konoha shinobi crossed Lightning's borders illegally, and that's not what anyone wants getting out. The Raikage will fortunately ignore the indications of your transgressions in favor of having not just their Two Tails jinchuuriki back, but also the unique gifts you gave her in the process."

Naruto asks in concern, "But, what if Yugito really is pregnant with my kid? Aren't we going to try and get him or her back? As a child of the Uzumaki clan, wouldn't that child fall under my care?"

Tsunade explains, "Unfortunately, we can't do anything about it. That child, which I guarantee you does exist, she is an elite Kumo Jonin kunoichi who knows her cycles by heart and timed it out perfectly. It's not like she just took a liking to you and wanted to have sex, that's just childish wishful thinking! Anyways, like I was saying, that child will be out of our reach because those clan rights don't include children born in foreign countries. Sure, we could push the issue and try to negotiate with Kumo to have the child returned to Konoha, but they have no reason to comply, no laws that'd force them to. It's not like they kidnaped one of your children, you simply had a one nightstand with one of their kunoichi that just so happened to produce a child. That's why it's the best tactic in stealing kekkei genkai, we have no legal leg to stand on, that child belongs to it's mother and the village she's loyal to."

Naruto then asks with worry laced in his voice, "W-Will my child be loved by them? Will he or she be safe?"

Tsunade gives Naruto a compassionate smile and answers, "Your child will be safe in Kumo's hands, they have strategic reasons in ensuring that your child grows up healthy and strong. As for being loved, well, that most likely comes down to Yugito's feelings for her own child, but, even though Kumo is ruthless with it's enemies, they are known for having deep loyalties and love for their own. So as a loyal soon to be Kumo citizen, your child will be given all the same rights as any other Kumo citizen, loved and protected like all the rest."

Naruto lets some of his worry fade and then replies with hopeful optimism, "And who knows, maybe Konoha and Kumo will become good friends in the future, like we are now with Suna. Then I might be able to spend time with my child in Kumo."

Tsunade smile back while responding, "Sure, I don't see why not. We may very well end up that way, anything can happen.", while silently thinking that it's most likely just a pipe dream, but she doesn't need to tell Naruto that, there's no harm in dreaming.

A nock at the door followed by Shizune informing them, "Lady Tsunade, the surprise for Naruto is here."

That perks up Naruto immediately, getting him to ask excitedly, "Surprise?! What surprise?!"

Tsuande chuckles, happy to see Naruto back to normal, responds, "Relax Naruto, you'll see in second. Send them in Shizune!"

The door open to reveal Inar and Tazuna, getting Naruto yell out happily, "Inari! Old Drunkard! It's good to see you guys again! What's it been, like two years?! What are guys doing here?!"

Inari happily answers while Tazuna grumbles about being called a drunkard, "Naruto! Hey, it's good to see too, and we're here to build the Uzumaki clan compound!"

Naruto looks confused, getting Tsunade to explain, "Iruka, Shizune, and myself have finished all the paperwork to enact the C.R.A on your behalf and got full approval from the Clan Council to spend the joint clan fund on building a compound for the Uzumaki clan. Having remembered the close ties you have with Nami, I sent the work contract to Tazuna's increasingly famous construction company."

Tazuna, after coming out of his funk, continues, "And once we heard about the project being for you and your clan, we all jumped at the chance to pay you back! We're even giving Konoha our friend discount, cost plus ten percent! So be grateful you, ah, not so little brat. What the hell have you been eating?! What happened to the midget I loved to tease?!"

Naruto smugly answers while standing tall, "Yeah! After forcing down all those nasty vegetables I really started to grow, and now that I'm taller than you, you drunkard, you can't call me small anymore! HA!"

Tazuna replies heatedly, "Hey! I might not be able to call you a shrimp anymore, but you can't call me a drunk either! I've only had the occasional drink at parties and celebrations! Life is way too good now to be drinking it away!"

Inari comments, "Which is all thanks to Naruto, besides, didn't you have a drink like the other day Gramps?"

Tazuna responds a bit embarrassed, "T-that was just to relax after a hard days work! That doesn't count!", which Tsunade silently agrees with, she'd never survive with out the occasional bottle of sake after a ruff days work.

Tsunade gets everyone's attention by loudly slapping her hands together, and then explaining, "Alright, enough small talk, you can catch up later. Now, Naruto, I want you to show Tazuna and Inari here the way to the Uzumaki shrine. That's where the Clan Council agreed to have the compound built at, plus you can finally go and collect the items your mother told you about."

Naruto smacks himself in the head and replies, "Damn! I forgot to grab then again! Alright, lets go!", heading to lead them to the shrine on the outskirts of the village.

Tsunade stops him by adding, "Naruto, after you're done with that I want you to come back here. I have something to discuss with you in private."

Naruto replies, "Sure thing Ba- uh, Tsunade. Man, that still feels weird to stay.", taking his leave with Inari and Tazuna.

It took Naruto a while to remember exactly where the shrine was, having only been told about it. It took almost an hour to find it. It also didn't help that Naruto spent most of the time catching up with Inari and Tazuna, learning that the were working in the Land of Lightning until just recently. Naruto shared the whole workings of the C.R.A and how he's going to be restoring his clan, which brings jealous remarks from both Inari and Tazuna, though if asked by Tsunami, they'd say they were disgusted with Naruto.

Once there, they stood at the entrance of the temple, which has a giant replica of the Uzumaki clan's symbol, that has fallen into ruin from wear and tear of time, getting Tazuna to comment, "This temple looks like crap."

Naruto fires back, "Hey! This is piece of my families history!"

Tazuna returns fire, "Yeah! A crappy piece of history!"

Naruto slumps, knowing that Tazuna is right, the place looks like one bad storm away from crumbling, but still utters out, "Yeah, well, it's not like anyone has been taking care of it all these years. You'd probably look worse if you'd been neglected for decades."

Inari cheers Naruto up by saying with confidence, "Don't worry Naruto, we'll get it looking like new in no time! Believe it!"

Naruto smiles back at him and replies, "Yeah! I know you can do it Inari! Ya know!"

Tazuna yells out while feeling insulted, "I'm here too you brat! I'm also the most experienced carpenter here, so show some respect for the man who'll actually be finding a way to fix this dump of a shrine!"

Naruto chuckles while apologizing, "Sorry Old Man, and thanks for agreeing for saving one of the few things left of my clan."

That brings a blush to Tazuna's face as he tries to wave it off by saying, "It's no big deal. I'm just returning the favor for helping to save my home."

Naruto responds, "Sure, but stay here while I go get some of my family heirlooms, the place could be booby trapped.", getting Inar and Tazuna to just nod their heads as Naruto heads inside.

Walking inside to the temples center, Naruto finds a podium of sorts where several oni-masks hang beneath three connected symbols of the Uzumaki clan, under which are ornate black flames. Naruto gazes at the masks, his sensory ability flaring at one mask in particular, the one with open mouth grin that shows it's razor shape teeth. It feels like death it's self is surrounding it, letting Naruto know that it's the right mask. He proceeds to carefully and fearfully seal the mask up in one on his storage scrolls, he then decides to collect all the decoy masks and seal them into a separate scroll so he can put them all back up once the construction is done.

With that done, Naruto starts searching for the hidden entrance to the room containing the Uzumaki Sealing Scroll that holds secret sealing jutsu. It takes him a few minutes to find a back room behind the podium, where a sealing array is written on the back wall. Looking at it, studying it's make up, Naruto proceeds to bite his left thumb and smear it into his right palm, which he then places on the arrays circle with the Uzumaki clan symbol while channeling his chakra into it. The seal array flares up, causing a unlocking noise to ring out as the wall gives way to reveal a descending staircase.

Naruto asks to himself, "Why is always a dark and creepy staircase leading into pitch darkness? Did people not believe in proper lighting?", as he proceeds carefully down the stairs.

A few minutes of walking down the stairs with the smell of stale air, Naruto reaches a large black room that lights up the moment his feet touch the ground. All along the walls are selves filled with scrolls, except on the back wall in front of him, there's a small alter with a large scroll, the same size as the one Jiraiya tends to carry on his back, it's black in the center with the Uzumaki clan symbol on it and red at the ends. Figuring it to be the scroll that his mother told him about, Naruto went over and opened it, finding a series of complex sealing formulas and designs that he can barely even understand. Rolling it back up, Naruto then pulls out a storage scroll and unseals a long brown leather strap, which he uses to strap the scroll on his back like Jiraiya.

Taking a look around at all the other scrolls, hoping to find more jutsu, Naruto ends up finding scrolls with the Konoha symbol on it and several others with different clan symbols, one of which is the Huyga clan. The Konoha symbol ones tend to just have financial information, trade agreements, one on the alliance between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure, and one about the barrier around Konoha.

The Hyuga clan scroll was about an old contract agreement with the Uzumaki clan dating back to the warring clan era, it seems that the Hyuga clan commissioned the Uzumaki clan to create the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. The details about it are complex stuff that goes over Naruto's head, but the seal's formula is something he understands and hopefully can use to remove it from Neji and other branch members. But for now, Naruto just seals all the other scrolls into storage scrolls with the help of his shadow clones, which still takes half an hour to do.

Naruto exits the shrine to see Yamato talking to Tazuna, getting him to ask, "Hey! Captain Yamato?! What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be helping Kakashi-sensei to train the others?"

Yamato turns to face Naruto and answers, "Yes, but when I heard that the Clan Council agreed to pay for the construction of the Uzumaki compound, I requested to offer my services in helping to speed it along."

Naruto replies, "Wow, thanks Captain Yamato! With your abilities it shouldn't take that long at all!"

Yamato chuckles at Naruto's excitement, but corrects him, "Well, I can only build houses out of wood, so you'll still need to have electrical, pluming, insulation, and even glass windows installed by professionals, but I've been talking with Tazuna here and have come up with a great foundation. I'll just be creating what you'd call the skeleton of a house, the base foundation, studs, beams, floors, and the roof, leaving open walls for installation of all the aforementioned amenities."

Tazuna responds, "Which will save us on both time and cost, but like Yamato said, it'll still take a lot of work to finish it all."

Naruto replies, "Yeah, well, that's still a big help and I'm grateful to all of you for your generosity. Thank you!"

Yamato blushes a bit before shaking it off and performing his "Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique!" to build the skeletal make-up of a large two story manner that eclipses the shrine behind them, and stretches around the shrine, forming an enclosure similar to that of the Huyga clan's main manner.

Tazuna yells out in shock, "Holy crap! You weren't kidding about your house making skills! Hey, if the whole shinobi thing doesn't work out, you can come work for me! You'll save me a fortune in lumber and labor costs!"

Yamato breaths out heavily, "I-I don't t-think that's f-for me. Making something t-this huge wears m-me out! But t-thanks for the o-offer."

Inari exclaims, "Whoa! This would normally take even a crew of fifty at least two months to build! Man, your powers are a carpenters dream come true!"

Naruto whistles at the size of his new home, commenting, "Wow! This place is going to be huge! It makes my apartment look like a closet in comparison! Thanks Captain Yamato!"

Yamato replies with a smile and sweat pouring down the side of his face, "It's no problem, were on the same team remember. I'm just glad to help a fellow Konoha shinobi and aid in the restoration of the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto asks, "Hey, are you guys going to be okay on your own? I have to go meet up with Baa-chan again."

Tazuna answers, "Yeah, we'll be fine. Yamato here can show us the way back, and besides, I want to get a better look at that shrine. I'll see what I can salvage, but it might be a gut job and then I'll have to rebuild it from the ground up."

Naruto responds, "If possible, I'd like it be rebuilt just like it should be, and with as much of it's original material as possible."

Inari chimes in, "Sure Naruto, we'll make sure it looks like it's suppose to, but we can only do so much to salvage the materials here. We won't allow the reuse of rotten wood or broken beams that could threaten the structural integrity of the temple."

Naruto nods his head as he replies, "Alright, I trust you guys to take care of my ancestors temple. Good luck and thanks again!", jumping away to meet back up with Tsunade at her office.

Inside Tsunade's office is Lord Fukasaku, he's sitting on a custom made seat attached to a tailed toad the size of Tsunade's desk, waiting for Naruto to arrive, having already discussed having Naruto learn senjutsu with both Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Naruto is let in by Shizune and stands in front of Tsunade's desk, getting Fukasaku to comment, "Well, you've most certainly gotten bigger Naruto-boy, do ya remember me?"

Naruto narrows his eyes and scrunches his brow in thought as he replies, "Um? A geezer frog? Ah, no?"

Tsunade scolds Naruto, "Naruto! Watch your mouth! This honorable personage is one of the two great sages of Mount Myoboku, Lord Fukasaku. He came all the way here for you."

Fukasaku corrects, "Well, to be more accurate, I am a great sage toad, but never mind that. So, ya really don't remember eh? Not that surprisin', considerin' that ya were out of control when me and Ma were summoned by Jiraiya-boy."

Naruto becomes offended and asks, "Jiraiya-boy? BOY?! How dare you treat Pervy Sage like a kid! Who does this geezer frog think he is?!", pointing at Fukasaku.

Tsunade once again scolds, "I said, watch your mouth! Didn't you agree to be more mature and better behaved?!"

Shizune adds, "He is the venerable master who taught Lord Jiraiya senjutsu."

That shocks Naruto as Fukasaku laughs out, "Ho ho ho, PERVY SAGE, eh? What a fittin' nickname for Jiraiya-boy."

Getting Naruto to ask in confusion, "So, what does that geezer sage want with me, anyway?"

Fukasaku explains, "Both Jiraiya-boy and Tsunade-girl have requested that I train ya in senjutsu at Mount Myoboku. The same way I hammered it into Jiraiya-boy, if it's okay wit' you."

Naruto woops joyfully, having once spared with Jiraiya while he was in sage mode, he knows how powerful it is, quickly composing himself, he replies, "Yeah! Why wouldn't I want learn senjutsu?! With that under my belt, I will finally surpass Pervy Sage!"

Fukasaku responds, "I'm warnin' ya right now, senjutsu trainin' is unbelievably rigorous! Ya up fer it?"

Naruto answers with pure determination, "If Pervy Sage was able to master it, then I'm going to master it too! I'm in!"

Fukasaku responds with a smile, "Nicely said Naruto-boy! Once ya've packed your things, come meet me at da village's gate!"

Meanwhile, Kabuto is injecting Guren's blood into himself, after she easily slaughtered all her prisoners, leaving only the one's for her team alive, thinking how he'll be taking up Orochimaru's goal of acquiring all this world as to offer. He'll use Guren to test Yukimaru's ability and the amplifying effect of the drugs he made for Yukimaru's abilities, and if it truly works then he'll add his blood to his body as well, allowing him to control even Bijuu!

After finishing, Kabuto moves out to meet up with Guren at the lake that the Three Tails is hiding in, stopping to pick up Yukimaru along the way. Yukimaru has magenta eyes and long pale-green hair, and is wearing a blue kimono with a jade-green under shirt and cadet-blue pants with bandages down to his ankles, and a pair of low cut dark brown sandals.

Back in Konoha, Naruto is standing next to Fukasaku, who's still riding his carrier toad, with his backpack packed for a training trip and Fuu, Hinata, and Sakura standing with Tsunade as he's about to disembark.

Fukasaku says, "Well, we should be moseying along now. Naruto-boy, say yer goodbyes."

Naruto complies, "I'm off! Don't worry you guys, I'll be back in no time, and as a sage too!"

Fuu whines, "Aww, it's not fair that you get to learn senjutu and I don't! Plus, you'll be gone for who knows how long! I don't want to go back to just masturbating!"

Sakura scolds, "FUU! Stop saying things like that in public!", taking a calming breath, she says to Naruto, "Good luck, Naruto!"

Naruto replies, "Thanks Sakura!"

Hinata says, "I hope you succeed, no, I know you will, Naruto-kun! Oh, and I'll look into those scrolls you found like you asked."

Naruto replies, Thanks Hinata-chan! Thanks for helping me with that stuff, I don't really get complicated things like that. And Fuu, relax! I'll have this down in no time, and be back to help you with THAT problem, okay?"

Fuu just nods her head as Tsunade says, "I'll inform you if anything important comes up, Naruto, but I want you to stay focused on mastering senjutsu."

Fukasaku responds, "I'll leave a messenger toad with ya. If any thing happens, send 'im back."

Tsunade replies, "Yes sir."

Naruto says as he gives a two finger wave, "All right! Let's go!", proceeding to take several steps before it dawns on him, "Er, which way's Mount Myoboku, again?"

Fukasaku explains, "It takes a month to get there on foot. N' as it's also known as Maze Mountain, if ya don't know the secret route, ya won't be able ta git there."

Naruto slumps in depression while asking, "It's really that hard to get there?"

Fukasaku summons the Toad contract scroll while explaining, "Naruto-boy, ya've already signed a binding contract with us toads. There's no need to worry"

Naruto points at the scroll, having remembered when he signed it, saying, "OH! That's!"

The scroll disappears as Fukasaku turns his head to face Tsunade and says, "Well then, we'll be borrowin' the boy."

Tsunade bows her head as she replies, "We are in your debt."

Getting Naruto to ask rather dumbfounded, "But what do you mean, there's no nee-", being cut off as he disappears in a cloud of smoke.

Getting Sakura to say in shock, "What? He disappeared!"

Fuu's looking around for him, thinking that he's trying to pull a prank on them.

Hinata asks in concern, "Where's Naruto-kun?!"

Tsunade explains, "Relax, it's just a reverse summoning. He's just been summoned to Mount Myoboku."

Fuu responds, "That's so cool! I didn't know summoning was a two-way street!"

Fukasaku says before disappearing, "Don't worry, we'll beat senjutsu into Naruto-boy."

AUTHORS NOTES: Sorry this one was a little shorter and lacking in action, but I didn't want to try squeezing the Guren arc into this. Plus Next chapter will allow me to focus on other characters during that arc while Naruto trains in senjutsu. I won't be writing about his senjutsu training, seeing as it's going to be just like in canon. The way I figure it, it takes Naruto like 5 days to possibly a whole week to master senjutsu, so I can work on Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, Ino's as well, then get into the Guren arc with Naruto appearing like he did in the arc, but with having finished his senjutsu training. That's also why I'm ending this chapter early, I need to rewatch the Guren arc, I usually hate filler stuff, so I need a refresher on the events and tone of this arc.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDispair

Chapter: 10

I DON'T OWN NARUTO

**Edited 9/13/19**

**Authors Notes: Sorry that this one took longer, but I'm not very good at dealing with filler. I had a hard time putting this one together. Plus a lot has to be covered to portray the change in Guren. Also, I spent a few days just watching tv and gaming**.

It had been two days since Naruto left to learn senjutsu on Mount Myoboku, and in that time Lady Tsunade had had received word from a now deceased Anbu that Kabuto had been spotted near one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Unfortunately, it was one of the ones that Sasuke only had a general idea of it's location, and the Anbu wasn't able to pinpoint it down before dying, so Tsunade had Kakashi take over as squad leader for Team Kurenai, seeing as she's on maternity leave, and sent them to tract Kabuto down.

So, Sakura finds herself getting off of her hospital shift that night as Yamato is training Fuu and Sai, she's on her way to finally talk to Sasuke about her feelings for him, and see if he feels the same way. She's timed it just right, after failing twice already, so that Sasuke is home alone and still awake. She's nervously waiting out side his home's door, having found the courage to knock, as Sasuke moves to answer it.

Opening the door of his residence, Sasuke says, "Oh, Sakura, it's only you. What do you want?", he's tone giving nothing away.

Sakura asks rather flustered, "Um, ah, S-Sasuke-kun, t-there's something I w-wanted to ask you.", her face turning redder with every word.

Sasuke asks in a completely clueless manner, "What do you want to ask?"

Sakura swallows her fears and answers, "I need to know if you like me? What I mean is, do you see us together in the future, sexually, emotionally, and you know, making a family?"

Sasuke stares at her unaffected and replies, "Of course I do."

Sakura smiles warmly as her face goes supernova, responding, "R-Really?! You truly think so?!", glad she took Anko's advice.

Who knows, she might just lose her virginity tonight to the boy of her dreams!

Sasuke answers in a matter-a-fact tone, "Yes, you're an ideal candidate for breeding my offspring. You hale from a civilian clan, so your inferior genetics won't interfere with my kekkei genkai, but you're not so weak as to produce inferior children. Plus, your skills in medical ninjustu will greatly aid the welfare and care of the children that will restore the Uchiha clan."

Sakura's glee quickly dissipates as hurt starts to replace it, getting her to ask, "Is that all you see me as?! A baby factory for restoring your clan?! Don't you love me?!", anger starting to bleed into her voice.

Sasuke answers in his same stock tone, "There's no place for love in restoring my clan, only insuring that I have enough suitable women to bare the necessary number of children to do so. I do feel something for you, you are my friend and comrade, but with the number of wives I must take, there is no point in trying to love all of them. If anything, showing more love to one over the other will only breed a rivalry between all of you, and that dissension could lead to murder plots involving my heirs. I'm sorry if you wanted something else, but that's what I need for my clans revival. Take it or leave it. I can find someone to replace your role in it, I have already been propositioned by numerous women to join my clan on that very same basis.", looking in Sasuke's eyes, all Sakura sees is indifference.

Sakura clenches her fists in rage as tears fill her eyes, getting her to scream out, "GO TO HELL SASUKE! I'LL NEVER BE APART OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT! Sure, I knew I was going to have to share you with others to restore your clan, but, I thought that at the very least you'd love me! But I see now that all I'll ever be to you is a baby maker and care giver! So go ahead and REPLACE me in your harem! I was wrong to think you'd be willing to LOVE ME!", tears of mixed pain and rage streaming down her face as she turns around and runs off!

Sasuke just watches as Sakura runs off in tears, not understanding why she'd take it so hard. The restoration of his clan has always come first over a romantic relationship, only being surpassed by the burning desire for revenge on Itachi. Doesn't she realize that was a apart of why he never reciprocated any of the advances all the girls made on him, he didn't want to instill a since of false hope, that and focusing on getting stronger. He can't openly love people like that anymore, he's not Naruto, who can open his heart to anyone. It's a secret part of why he admires Naruto's strength, but he just can't, not after the massacre of his entire clan. Something broke inside of him that day, that sweet loving boy he use to be died, and as long as Itachi lives, he'll stay that way.

Meanwhile, with Kakashi's search team, they've pinpointed the hideout that Kabuto was hiding in. They only ended up finding dead prisoners with curse marks, and nearly getting crushed to death by triggering a booby trap that caused the whole hideout to collapse into an underground whirlpool, almost sucking them down into it's watery depths. Fortunately, they were able to pick up a trail of a large number of individuals leaving the area. Scouting ahead to better pinpoint their new targets, Shino released thousands of beetles across the area ahead of them, only to lose contact with most of them.

Shino says in concern, "I've lost contact with just about all my parasitic beetles!"

Kiba responds in shock, "What?! Seriously?! There were like tens of thousands of them!", Akamaru barking in agreement.

Kakashi asks, "Were they destroyed by the enemy?"

Shino explains, "I don't think so? I just lost contact with them simultaneously."

Kakashi thinks about the implications and orders, "Hinata, look ahead and tell us what you see."

Hinata replies, "Yes Kakashi-sensei!", while activating her Byakugan and looking ahead of them to see a clearing filled with trapped men and Shino's beetles.

Seeing her shocked and confused expression, Kakashi asks, "What is it Hinata? What do you see?"

Hinata answers, "I'm not entirely sure, but it looks like the escaped prisoners, along with Shino's beetles, are encased in some sort of material!"

Shino asks, "What kind of material? Can you make it out with your Byakugan?"

Hinata shakes her head while replying, "No. I'm sorry, I can't Shino."

Kiba comments, "Damn it! What the hells happening?!"

Kakashi responds, "I don't know, but we're about to find out, so be ready!"

Once arriving, everyone is taken back by what they see, a bit over a dozen men in different states of curse mark transformations trapped inside of pink crystals!

Kiba asks, "What is this?!"

Kakashi guesses, "Perhaps some sort of earth style jutsu?"

As Shino picks up one of his crystalized beetles, it shatters into dust, along with all the prisoners, getting Hinata to say in horror, "What's happening to them?!"

Kakashi just looks at what's happening and thinks about what it could be, but having only heard of rumors about it, he can't be certain.

Meanwhile, ahead of them is Guren, she's walking away from disposing of the fools that tried to kill her, running into the five that ran off, illuminated by the moon light in front of a tree along the cliff's edge.

Going from her right to her left, the first is Nurari, sitting on a tree branch, despite his slender and somewhat feminine appearance, he's male. He's wearing a full-body slime suit, leaving only his face uncovered and dark green lipstick, his eyes are always wide open and some pink hair is sticking out.

On the ground is Gozu, he has short slicked combed back brown hair, no eyebrows, grey eyes, sharp teeth, and long arms reaching down to his knees. He's wearing a brown sleeveless kimono shirt with a black belt, bandages around his wrists, grey pants and black sandals.

The next one is Rinji, he has dark brown hair with black eyes. He's wearing a purple loose fitting vest that shows his chest, the rest of his mid-section is covered with bandages, a light blue poncho-like item around his neck, black wrist warmers, and tan pants with dark brown sandals.

Next is Kiho, he has pale, pasty looking skin and white hair with dark blue framed glasses with orange lenses. He's wearing a dark purple cloak with orange outlines, blue pants, and tan geta with black stripes.

Lastly is Kigiri, he has medium-length dull-purple hair and grey eyes. He's wearing a gas mask that covers the lower half of his face, a black cloak with a black under-shirt with lavender pants and sandals.

Guren comments, "Oh, you lot are still here? I thought you were trying to flee while I was killing all those fools."

Gozu moves forward to speak up, only to be stopped by Rinji placing his left hand out in front of him and replying, "We weren't trying to escape, just trying to avoid being caught up in those idiots mess. We know that there is no escaping Lord Orochimaru, so we waited here for you."

Guren wants to just kill them off and be on her way, but knows that showing up without a team would displease Lord Orochimaru, so responds, "Fine. You're all now apart of my team, but do try to be useful, our mission is for Lord Orochimaru's benefit. Oh, and seeing as we're going after a Bijuu, I suggest you don't die too soon!", leaving to meet up with Kabuto to take in the boy who's powers that Orochimaru wants tested on the Three Tails.

The newly minted members of Team Guren are shocked and concerned that they're going after a Bijuu, but Rinji still lets out a reply, "Thank you for the opportunity to serve Lord Orochimaru.", giving a bow in the process.

Back with Kakashi's search team, Shino has collected a crystalized beetle that wasn't destroyed, getting Kakashi to order, "Shino, I'm going to send that intact sample to Lady Tsunade so she can have it analyzed. Hopefully giving us an answer as to what we're dealing with."

Shino hands over the crystalized beetle to Kakashi while replying, "Understood."

Kakashi sends the sample off using Pakkun, his smallest, but most skilled ninja hound, and then orders, "All right everyone, lets continue to track our targets, but until we're sure of what we're dealing with, be careful!", getting affirmative responses from them and moving on.

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Sakura had ended up running into Ino on her way home, tears still present in her eyes, getting Ino to stop her and ask what was wrong. Not wanting to make a scene, Sakura asked Ino if they could talk in private, which is why they are now in Ino's families flower shop's back room.

Once hearing Sakura's account of what happened with Sasuke, Ino starts to think about how her suspicions about Sasuke's plan of using the C.R.A to restore his clan was correct. That he'd have a more logical and unfeeling approach to forming a harem for the sole purpose of procreation. But, from the way Sakura explained it, she most likely wouldn't even be allowed into Sasuke's harem, seeing as she hails from a kekkei genkai bearing clan, not that'd she want to. She'd be willing to share him, but there's no way she'd let herself be reduced to a baby factory! She a proud kunoichi and a strong woman! Screw that misogynistic view Sasuke has for restoring his clan, no matter how logical it may sound, that still doesn't make it any better! What self respecting woman would let herself be in a loveless, baby making, misogynistic relationship like that?! The kind that doesn't have any, or are just looking to position themselves in a powerful clan with ulterior motives.

Besides, she doesn't want to give up her clan heiress status. She wants to become the next leader of her clan, and won't give that up for anyone, even Sasuke!

Sakura snaps Ino out of her inner rant by asking, "What's wrong with me? First I start developing feelings for Naruto who starts making his own personal harem, then the boy I've had a crush on for most of my life is doing the same thing!", her voice going from despondent to angry.

Ino chimes in with compassion laced in her voice, "Sakura, there's nothing wrong with you. No one decides who they fall in love with, and remember that I'm in the same boat as you, I've had a crush on Sasuke just as long as you have. Not to mention that I've been sneaking looks and the rare grope of Naruto myself, and even Fuu to, so stop attacking yourself."

Sakura gasps out in surprise, "Wait! You've groped Naruto and FUU?!"

Ino laughs at Sakura's flabbergasted expression, getting her to respond, "What forehead? Since when is it illegal for a girl to lust after another woman?"

Sakura replies, "W-Well, it's not. It's j-just that first it's Fuu, now you! I'm feel like I'm starting to lose my mind, or that she's infecting people with her sexuality."

Ino corrects Sakura, "Fuu didn't infect me with anything. I've always had an attraction to the female form, that's why I've always targeted more feminine men. As an heiress I have to produce an heir or I'll be ending my families rule of our clan to another Yamanaka. Sure, my parents are understanding and would except me anyways, even letting go of the fact that I'd be passing up on maintaining our leadership status in our clan. But I don't want to do that to them, they've always supported me and all of my selfish desires! How can I be so selfish as to end our families direct bloodline too? So I compromised by chasing after Sasuke, who despite being cold and unresponsive, had the feminine look I adore."

Sakura replies apologetically, "Sorry Ino. I didn't know that about you. I hope I wasn't coming off to judgmental."

Ino just waves Sakura off while saying, "No, it's okay. I've been hiding in my closet for so long that I almost convinced myself that those feelings were gone, but our sexual preferences are out of our control. I'm bisexual and I need to except that! Well, I use to think I was just a lesbian, but after getting a nice firm squeeze of Naruto's buns of steal, I know I can be attracted to men to and not just pretty-boys like Sasuke. Man, why does society have to complicate love so much? Can't we just love who we want to without everyone else judging us?"

Sakura starts feeling worse about herself, all this time she been complaining to Ino about how sick it is for Naruto to love all these different women, and Fuu's obsession with having sex with another woman and her desire to have threesome with Naruto. Yet, Ino's been dealing with similar desires herself, but because of her and society, Ino has had to hide that part of herself away in the fear of how people would react to it. Knowing that people, for whatever reason, will fear and hate anyone that's different from them and their beliefs, even if it's out of that persons control, like Ino's sexually preferences and Naruto's jinchuuriki status. They didn't chose to be that way, but people will still always judge them for it, regardless of how nice, kind, caring and truly trusting they really are. Sakura now knows that it's not them that are at fault, but her and society!

Sakura voices her thoughts, "You're right Ino. Nobody has the right to judge anyone on such things, it's really no one's business anyways, and I still have to apologizes to you. I have been unintentionally judging you for your sexual preferences, making you feel like you couldn't confide in me! I've been a horrible friend to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

Ino is taken back by Sakura's turnaround, she's usually too stubborn to admit when she's wrong, so it takes Ino a second to respond, "Uh, yeah. Of course you're forgiven! Like you said, you didn't know, and besides, friends always make a few mistakes, but that doesn't mean we just stop being friends!"

Sakura replies with a smile, "Thanks Ino, I'm already feeling better."

Ino responds, "You're welcome, but you're wrong you know."

Sakura asks rather confused, "Wrong? About what?"

Ino explains, "When you said that Naruto and Sasuke are doing the same thing. Sasuke is just doing the harem thing for the C.R.A to restore his clan, but Naruto just fell into it because he couldn't let go of his love for you, Hinata, and Fuu. Naruto has grown up without love, friends, or a family, so he simply can't let go of the bonds he forms with people. Whether it's bonds of friendship or the ones formed between lovers, and it's thanks to that very quality of his, that you have repeatedly attacked him for, is why Sasuke's back in Konoha! So, it's not just me you need to apologizes to. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to go have sex with him and join his harem, just say you're sorry for overreacting to his situation."

Sakura replies, "You're right Ino, I should, but I still have these feelings that-"

Ino interrupts, "For the love of Kami! Look here Forehead! You already got your yes from Sasuke, but turned him down! So now you only have three options left to you! One, go back and tell Sasuke you've changed your mind and want to be his baby factory! Two, go fuck Naruto's brains out and join his harem! If it works for you, then great, but if it doesn't, then leave. Three, move on from the both of them! There are other fish in the sea! So stop dragging your heels and bitching to me about it, and do something already!"

Sakura gets a little upset and fires back, "W-Well! What about you?! I don't see you doing anything about your problems!"

Ino returns fire, "Yeah! Well, fine! I call your bluff! I'll just go and take Fuu up on her offer to have sex with her!"

Sakura responds skeptically, "Oh yeah! You're just going to put away all of your angst and just do it with Fuu?! Ha! I'll believe it when I see it, Ino-Pig!"

Ino's standing up and eyeing Sakura, as she also stands up to eye Ino back, sparks flying off as Ino yells back, "Just you wait and see, Forehead!"

Sakura proceeds to stomp out of the flower shop and head home, knowing Ino's just all talk, which will allow her to keep avoiding her feelings for Naruto for awhile longer. Unfortunately, what Sakura failed to account for was that Ino has been wrestling with her desire to fuck Fuu for weeks now, and now with the added incentive of proving Sakura wrong, she'll finally cave.

In Naruto's apartment, Fuu is just about to go to bed after a hard days training when a pounding knock at the door prevents her from getting into bed. Reluctantly, Fuu walks to the door in nothing but one of Naruto's black t-shirts and a pair of orange panties.

Fuu opens the door and yells out, "Do you know what time-", only to be cut off as Ino seals her lips to Fuu's!

Fuu is taken back by the sudden lip-lock, but once she sees that it's Ino, she quickly reciprocates by pulling Ino in closer to her body. Ino pushes Fuu far enough into the apartment to kick the door shut behind her, never once breaking her connection to Fuu.

Once they break apart due to the need for air, Ino huffs out, "Close. Off. Bed. Now!"

Fuu is taken a bit back, not use to being on the receiving end of such a heavy handed sexual advance, she's usually the aggressor. But she shouldn't be too surprised by Ino's actions, she has been teasing her every chance she gets. From purposely rubbing up against her, to stretching in exaggerated ways to show of her curvatures, ending with flashing her while whispering dirty things into her ears. Now it's payback time and Ino's not going to be pulling any of her punches!

What follows is the sounds of clothes being thrown off, the springs in Naruto's mattress creaking, the pleasure filled moans of Ino and Fuu, and the screams of ecstasy as they reach their peeks and orgasm! The both of them having their first lesbian experience, and Ino's first ever sexual act.

With the rising of the sun on a new day, a naked Ino wakes in Naruto's bed with an equally naked Fuu sleeping on her, using her left breast as a pillow. Ino smiles down at Fuu, remembering the pleasant night of love making, well, more like hot passionate sex, glad that she let Sakura push her into giving into her long suppressed desires. As the sunlight hits Fuu's eyes, she stirs awake to look up at Ino, bringing a smile to her face as well.

Fuu happily exclaims, "Yes! I finally did it! I got to have my lesbian experience, and with Ino no less!"

Ino playfully corrects, "Actually, I was the one that got you into bed last night, and yes, I'm quite the catch."

Fuu replies, "Yeah, but I have been slowly breaking you down for weeks, so it's more like I finally wore you down into giving in to my charms!"

Ino responds by giving Fuu's firm ass a nice squeeze while saying, "Fine, I don't care who's responsible for last nights escapades. I'm just happy that they happened and hope they happen again Fuu."

Fuu asks sensually, "Are you looking for a repeat performance Ino?", while kissing her way up Ino's body, ending with a kiss on the lips.

Ino answers hotly, "I'd love nothing more Fuu, but I'm afraid that I have to open my families shop soon."

Fuu pouts while muttering, "That's not fair, getting me hot and bothered to just run out on me."

Ino slides out from under Fuu and walks to the bathroom while responding, "Now, now, Fuu. I said I have to go soon, so I don't see why you can't join me for a shower before I go.", disappearing into the bathroom with Fuu quickly following after her.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade has just received Kakashi's update with Shino's crystalized beetle, getting her to order, "Shizune, I need you take this beetle to be analyzed, so that we can hopefully ascertain the effects of this jutsu that crystalized Shino's beetles."

Shizune replies, "Yes Milady!", taking the beetle to be analyzed by the Jutsu Analysis Corp.

As Shizune leaves, Tsunade is hoping that her theory is wrong, that they're dealing with a crystal style user.

Said cystal user, Guren, is entering another Oto hideout after leaving her new team at a rundown shack in the area of the lake that the Three Tails is hiding in. She's descending a staircase leading to an underground cavern behind a cloaked Kabuto to retrieve Yukimaru.

Kabuto explains, "I did a test run with Yukimaru to see if his powers really could control the Three Tails, and it went splendidly. Though I've had to make adjustments to the medication I gave him to amplify his power, and with your powers added to it, control should be complete."

Guren replies, "It'd better be! If I even suspect you of trying to sabotage my chances, I'll kill you!"

Kabuto responds, "No matter how much I might not want you to succeed, Lord Orochimaru's orders are absolute. He wants this mission to succeed no mater what, so even if it kill us, we're not to fail!"

Guren scoffs, "As if I'd be killed off as easily as you! Besides, I have NEVER failed Lord Orochimaru, nor will I ever fail him!"

Kabuto smiles victoriously, his face hidden from Guren, while replying, "Good. Lord Orochimaru knew that no else but you could pull this off."

Guren asks with exuberance, "Did he really say that?! Why didn't he tell me himself?! I was hoping to see Lord Orochimaru to at least see if he's okay!"

Kabuto scolds, "Now Guren, do you honestly believe that he'd risk giving out his location while being in a weakened state! You may well be completely loyal to him, but many others would jump at the chance to kill him, like Sasuke did! Lord Orochimaru is hidden away in a secret hideout that only I know of, and until he's fully recovered no one is allowed near him, not even you! Or do you think that your selfish desire to see him is more important than his safety!"

Guren quickly replies, "NO! Of course not! I understand, I'll graciously wait for Lord Orochimaru's full recovery before seeing him!"

Kabuto's grin increases at how easily Guren is to be manipulated, which drops slightly when Guren asks, "Hey, weren't there suppose to be a thousand Oto shinobi stationed here?"

Kabuto answers, "Yes, there were, but after Sasuke's betrayal, Lord Orochimaru is having every hideout that Sasuke's aware of emptied out and rigged to blow for when Konoha-nin arrive.", when in reality, Kabuto killed most of them to test his newly growing abilities.

Though, he did keep a few alive for using the Edo Tensei jutsu, well they're not alive now anyways.

Guren responds in disgust, "Of course that traitorous cockroach would give away all the locations to our hideouts!"

Kabuto explains, "Yes, I even found a Konoha Anbu near the hideout you were in, unfortunately, he was able to escape from me long enough to send out a message to Konoha and destroy his own corpse. A typical Anbu strategy, so expect to run into Konoha shinobi at the lake."

Guren confidently replies, "If I run into any Konoha-nin, I'll kill them before the can even attempt to flee from me! I'm not so carless as to let even an Anbu escape me!", a little backhanded comment at Kabuto's expense.

Kabuto ignores her remark as they enter the chamber where Yukimaru is, saying to him as they approach, "Yukimaru, this is Guren. She'll be taking care of you as you fulfill Lord Orochimaru's wishes."

Yukimaru gets up from his crouched position and asks, "Are we going to a place that I can go back to? A place I can call home?"

Kabuto answers, "The place you can go back to is Lord Orochimaru. We're going to a place to ensure that you can go back home."

Guren asks, "What's with this kid?"

Kabuto replies, "It doesn't matter to you Guren. You're only job is to take care of him and ensure his safety until the missions completion, but considering your personality, I doubt he'll take a liking to you."

Suddenly from above, crystal spears rain down on Kabuto in an instant, surrounding his entire body in razor sharp crystal blades, leaving him at Guren's mercy. Kabuto is sweating in concern, but can't help but admire how she can even materialize crystals from the moisture in the air without any hand-signs instantly. Grinning at the fact that in time he'll also have this formidable ability.

Guren merely warns him, "Don't test me Kabuto, even as Orochimaru's right hand man, I'll still kill you if you upset me. Actually, maybe I'd be better off just killing you and ensuring my place as Lord Orochimaru's vessel?"

Kabuto warns her, "That would be ill advised, for I'm the only one that knows of Lord Orochimaru's whereabouts and the only one that can heal him! I wasn't kidding when I said that Sasuke nearly killed him, I honestly need to hurry back to him to give him his next treatment. Otherwise, he'll die before he can perform the transference ritual."

A concerned Guren releases Kabuto while demanding, "Then hurry up and go to him! If he dies, you'll wish that I'd had just killed you!", the crystals surrounding him breaking into sparkling dust.

Getting Yukimaru to ask disappointedly, "Does this mean no more rain?"

Kabuto just disappears in a cloud of smoke as Guren orders, "Come now boy! We have to go!", walking off with Yukimaru following after her, asking the same questions he did with Kabuto.

Along the way, to meet up with Guren's team, Yukimaru says, "The home one can go back to is a place where people think about you. Do I have someone that thinks about me?"

Guren replies, "What are you talking about? Just hurry along.", becoming irritated at how slow she's having to move because of Yukimaru.

Yukimaru looks down as he remembers when Kabuto had them rest at a resort where he ran into a blond haired guy with whisker marks on his face, and how he told that that the place he could call home is a place where people think about you. Not knowing that was Naruto, a Konoha shinobi, who had Hirashin'd there, having marked Jiraiya during one of their spars, to ask Jiraiya for help with a sealing jutsu he was working on the side, while training in senjutsu. With Jiraiya being the super pervert that he was, he ended up finding him peeking at that resorts hot-spring, and ended up deciding on taking a relaxing dip before heading back to Mount Myoboku.

Yukimaru looks up at the camellia flower pattern on Guren's back, getting him to ask, "Which one do you prefer, the red or the white camellia flower?"

Guren is confused why he asked, until she remembers the flower pattern on her dress, replying, "I don't, it's just a coincidence that I have these.", turning back around and continuing on.

Yukimaru is having a hard time keeping up as his body starts to overheat and exhaustion over takes him, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.

Hearing him fall, Guren quickly turns around to see him unconscious on the ground, getting her to yell out, "Yukimaru!", running over to him to see if he's okay.

Moving Yukimaru onto his back, glad to see that he's okay, she then curses as a storm starts to pick up, forcing her to find them shelter. Guren was able to find them a small empty cabin to wait out the storm, irritated at how she's going to be late with meeting up with her team, but with Yukimaru's condition, there's no way she can go any further.

Hearing Yukimaru moan in pain, Guren rushes to his side and asks, "What's wrong Yukimaru?"

He looks up at her and answers, "I-It's so cold.", getting her to check his temperature by placing her hand on his forehead.

Guren becomes alarmed as she realizes that he has a fever, so she quickly bundles him up in the thickest blanket she can find. Then runs off to collect fire wood from the indoor pile and start a fire in the cabin's fire pit for cooking.

Meanwhile, Guren's team are waiting out the storm in the rundown shack, complaining at the horrible state of their hideout and how Guren's late. While Kakashi's search team is waiting it out inside a cave after having split up to cover more ground, seeing as Kiba was unable to pick up a scent, and now with the rain, it's practically impossible to.

Kiba was able to put together that the dog whistle sound he and Akamaru heard before must be used to control the bats that they've repeatedly run into. Explaining how the enemy is aware of their presence are able to keep avoiding them for the past two days. Hinata returned unsuccessful as well, but Shino is out by himself, cocooned as he was able to find some of his beetles that had survived Guren's crystal attack, and is now waiting as they breed, hopefully giving him beetles with an immunity to Guren's crystal style.

Back with Guren, she'd fallen asleep in a chair by the bedside after tirelessly taking care of the sick Yukimaru, who only woke up once to grab her and comment about her warmth, bringing a smile to her face. Now with the storm passed and sunlight hitting her eyes, does she finally wake to find a blanket draped on her and Yukimaru gone! Guren begins to franticly yell out his name as she goes running through the woods looking for him, she finally finds him sitting under a camellia tree, whistling a tune with a leaf and holding a charm necklace in his right hand.

Guren approaches Yukimaru, getting him to stop playing the somewhat familiar song, while she asks, "Are you feeling better?", getting a smile and a nod from him, she continues, "I can't have you disappearing like that. Lord Orochimaru entrusted you to me."

Yukimaru lowers his head with a frown and a sad look on his face, getting Guren to notice his charm, prompting her to ask, "What's that?"

A surprised look appears on his face, then shifts to a more fond expression while holding the charm closer to his heart, and answers, "My mom."

A somewhat concerned expression appears on Guren's face as she asks, "By the way, where's your family?"

Yukimaru answers, "My mother, didn't return, so, I don't have anywhere to go."

Guren silently stares at him, thinking about how she had no one when growing up, until Orochimaru slaughtered the village she was in single-handed and took her in. She was awe-struck by his power, and unlike everyone in her village that feared her and her powers, he was delighted by them, so she found meaning in her existence by serving the first person to acknowledge her.

Looking up at the camellia tree, she catches a falling white camellia and crystalizes it, and explains, "Camellias, you like them, right? This camellia will never wither as long as I'm alive.", handing Yukimaru the camellia.

Yukimaru holds it dearly as he looks at it fondly, Guren then says, "Lets go.", and turns around and leaves with Yukimaru following after her.

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Tsunade has received her report on the crystalized beetle, and it's just as she feared, it was crystalized down to the cellular level, changing all of it's bodily fluids into crystal. Realizing the dangers of a crystal user, she summons Yamato to her office to assign him a team to aid Kakashi's team.

After being debriefed on the situation, Yamato asks, "Is this crystal user really that dangerous?"

Tsunade explains, "Yes, though I've only heard of it in rumors, but in the past there have been reports of such an ability being used during the pervious wars. Even a rumor of how a crystal user was able to make an entire village disappear in single night! It's hard to believe that Orochimaru was able to find one, seeing as there was no recorded clan of having this ability, that's how rare it is."

Yamato then ask, taking the threat more seriously, "Who am I to take on this mission?"

Tsunade answers, "It'd be best to have Sai, who can do aerial surveillance with his ink creations. Then having Sakura, who's a shinobi trained in medical ninjutsu would be crucial to the missions success, but I have her out running a few errands for me, so you'll have to wait to leave until she gets back. Hopefully, by then, Naruto will be finished with his senjutsu training and will be able to add some extra muscle to your team, but if he isn't, you'll still have Fuu as extra muscle, plus she has the ability to fly as well, and her communication power will be most helpful."

Yamato replies, "Yes Milady! I'll inform both Sai and Fuu to be ready to move on Sakura's return."

As Yamato is about to leave, Tsunade stops him by saying, "Hold on Yamato. There's another issue I'd like to inform you about, and possible get some insight from you about it."

A confused Yamato asks, "And what exactly would that be?"

Tsunade explains, "You see, we were able to acquire these strange clones form a member of the Akatsuki that had the ability to hide as small spores and grow to full size by leeching the chakra off of their targets. I personally studied their bodies composition, and came to the realization that they are beings made from a combined structure of plant cells and the cells of my grandfather, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!"

Yamato yells out in pure shock, "What?! How can that be?! D-did Orochimaru create them for the Akatsuki?!"

Tsunade answers, "That's always a possibility, which is why I decided to tell you about it. I'm hoping that you'd be able to shed some light on this, seeing as Orochimaru used my grandfather's cells to alter your body."

Yamato replies, "I'm sorry, but the first memories I have are waking up inside Root by Danzo. He had secured Orochimaru's hideout that I was created in, he said that I was the only one to survive and that all the research was on combining the First's cells with human children, not plants. So, all I can say for certain, is that Orochimaru has the knowledge and ability to create them."

Tsunade responds, "True, but I can't help but be concerned that the Akatsuki has there own supply of my grandfathers cells and were the ones that created it, or even worse, Madara did it somehow. If he did, and he found a way to combine my grandfathers abilities to his own, then we're in a lot of trouble.", her hands folded in front of her face as a worried look becomes more evident.

Yamato replies, "Then I hope your concerns are wrong. Lord First was considered the Kami of shinobi and Madara was the only one who could compete with him. If Madara, who's power is already greatly feared, has the added power of the First, then I can't even fathom how we'd be able stop such monster."

Tsunade sighs before agreeing, "Yes, it'd be a worse case scenario, so all we can do is hope for the best and plan for the worst. Keep this to yourself for now, I'll inform all relevant parties when we have more definitive proof. You are dismissed."

Yamato promptly bows and leaves Tsunade to her own troubling thoughts.

It's been five days since Naruto left for his senjutsu training on Mount Myoboku, his first day was filled with eating bug dishes for food, learning about the properties of senjutsu and it's risks. By the end of that day, with the aid of shadow clones and getting beaten with a baton that knocks the nature chakra from his body, saving him from turning into a toad statue, he masters gathering nature chakra with oil.

Finding out how much his power and abilities are increased, Naruto figures out how to use senjutsu to complete his Rasenshuriken. He also found out that senjutsu exponentially increased the power and range of his sensory abilities.

The second day was less successful, he was forced to stop trying to take in nature chakra without the oil and was forced to focus on mastering stillness, which is an essential part of mastering senjutsu. He did this by balancing himself while sitting on a tile on top of a tall spiked rock formation, and only once he could stay up there without so much as a tremor, was he allowed to continue gathering nature chakra. Thanks to that approach, he mastered entering Sage Mode to an even higher degree than Jiraiya on the third day. He found out that his body was far more durable and healed faster when in this fully realized sage mode.

The rest of the third day was spent on learning a type of sparring that sages perform using sage jutsu chakra, called Kawazu Kumite. By the fourth day he'd pretty much mastered Kawazu Kumite, being able to jump so high into air that he would be fighting above tall buildings. All the while, he'd be spending the nights to secretly work on his jutsu as Fukasaku was sleeping. Learning to throw his Rasenshuriken, but only four times before his sage mode runs out, and even started working on some of the sealing jutsu inside the Uzumaki scroll he brought with him, but those sealing jutsu are so complex that he ended up Hirashining to Jiraiya for some help. That's where he ran into this strange kid asking about having a place to go back to, he kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger and alone.

The fifth day was spent trying to learn how to gather nature chakra while moving, seeing as the Nine Tails wouldn't let Fukasaku merge with Naruto to gather it for him in battle. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, Naruto couldn't properly gather nature chakra without starting to turn into a toad. Fukasaku compared it to trying to look to the right while looking to left, giving Naruto the inspiration to use shadow clones to gather it for him, then when they'd disperse, he'd receive the gathered nature chakra. Right now he can only maintain four shadow clones to gather nature chakra and can only use up to six more in combat, otherwise his clones will become too distracted to keep gathering nature chakra.

It was after applying the shadow clone method and successfully testing it out, that the messenger toad Fukasaku left behind with Tsunade returned to pass on her message. The message stated that if Naruto has finished his training in senjutsu, then he needs to return to go on a mission to back up Kakashi's search team that is tracking down Kabuto. That was all Naruto needed to hear, and with Fukasaku blessings, Naruto set out to Hirashin back to Konoha, making sure to grab all his stuff. Including his new short-sleeved red Sage coat with a black flame pattern around the hem, he was gifted it by Fukasaku for mastering Sage Mode, making him a fully realized Sage of Mount Myoboku.

He is now wearing it over his usual outfit with his families scroll on his back, the Uzumaki clan symbol on it facing outward for all to see. Ready to leave, Naruto says his goodbyes as Shima returns from scrounging up some ingredients for the meal she was planning, Naruto sighs in relief a little to loudly, getting her to make him wait as she makes him a bento box to go, thinking it was a sigh of disappointment. Damn it!

Naruto has Hirashin'd back to Konoha's main gate to officially check back in with the guards, that logged him as having returned after being gone for five days. So, now everyone in the chain of command knows that he's returned to the village and is ready for active duty. He has decided to be more professional from now on, the lecture Tsunade gave him and the mistakes he's made have really opened his eyes.

Plus, since mastering senjutsu, he's been able to really feel like apart of nature. Naruto's spent quite a bit of time meditating while drawing in nature chakra, enhancing his sensory ability to the point that he can actually feel the core feelings of their entire beings, like the type of person they are, where they're from, if their chakra is related to someone else's, he can even tell when someone is lying to him. It's given him some perspective about life and how the world works, and because of that, he can feel the anger inside of him diminish a bit. It's not gone, but far more manageable now.

Sakura is headed to the village's gate to assist Kakashi's team, with Sai on her right, Fuu on her left, and Captain Yamato in the lead. She's lost in thought about how Fuu had gone into explicit detail of how Ino practically knocked her door down to have sex with her. Not wanting to believe it, she ran off to confirm it with Ino, who didn't just confirm it, but said how she's been spending almost every night with Fuu since then.

Before Sakura could try and make an excuse for why she didn't face her feelings about Naruto, Ino simply told her that she doesn't care anymore. That after finally freeing herself to indulge in what she wants, she doesn't need to live vicariously through others anymore. Also, that she's already given Sakura all the advice she can give. Which means that Sakura can't keep talking about to try and avoid actually doing it, so now she's having to ask herself the hard questions about how she feels, and finally act on them.

Sakura is snapped out of her thoughts as Naruto yells out, "Hey! Wait up! Baa-chan just gave me the okay to go on the mission with you guys!"

Yamato replies, "That's good news. We could use your help on this one Naruto, especially now that you've seemed to have mastered senjutsu, right?"

Naruto smiles as he puffs up his chest and boasts, "Yup! Told you I'd have it down in no time flat!"

Fuu asks excitedly, "Really?! Then can you show us what it looks like?!"

Sai adds, "Yes, I too would like to see what the legendary Sage Mode looks like."

Naruto responds, "Yeah, sure. Just give me a moment.", Naruto proceeds to close his eyes and stand perfectly still as he draws in nature chakra.

Sakura comments, "Um? Is he doing something? I don't see any change and he's not making any hand-signs."

Fuu looks harder at Naruto and replies, "I don't see anything. Maybe Naruto's having trouble?"

Just then Naruto gains orange markings around his eyes, opening them to reveal yellow eyes with horizontal square pupils, while saying, "And there you go! Sage Mode! Awesome, right!"

Yamato comments, "I can definitely feel that your stronger, but what does it all do and how long can you maintain it?"

Naruto answers, "Well, I can only maintain it for about ten minutes at the most, for the amount of nature chakra I can take in is based on the amount of chakra I have. Though it will fade faster when I use large jutsu like the Rasenshuriken. While it's active, my entire body is enhanced, from my bodies durability, to healing speed, stamina, strength, speed, even the amount of chakra I have is increased, but the most surprising change is how much it increases my sensory ability."

Yamato asks, "By how much does it increase your sensory ability?"

Naruto explains, "Well, my range extends out side the Land of Fire, I can actually sense Kakashi-sensei, Hinata-chan, Kiba, and Shino from here. I can also sense how Hinata's chakra is related to all the members of the Hyuga clan, Kiba to the Inuzuka, and Shino to the Aburame here in the village. The only problem is that if I don't focus on a particular range or area, I end up becoming over flooded with signatures to the point that it's hard to make sense of any of it. It's like Sage Mode connects my sensory ability to all of the nature energy in the world, it can be too much at times, so I keep it focused mostly on just the immediate area around me. If I focus it on a single person, I can get a feel of what type of person they are, what they're feeling, a general idea of where they're from, and even if they're lying by the way their chakra fluctuates."

Sakura comments, "That's an amazing boost to your sensory ability! I've never heard of one that powerful before!"

Yamato replies, "I have actually. Lady Mito, the First Hokage's wife and a member of the Uzumaki clan, actually had an even stronger sensory ability."

Fuu exclaims, "Wow! That's unbelievable, and here I thought I made a big improvement!"

Sai responds, "Well, senjutsu is extremely rare, so it's over whelming power is to be expected."

Yamato gets them back on point, "Alright now, that's enough of that. We have a mission to go on, lets go!", getting everyone to reply in the affirmative and follow him out of the village to aid Kakashi's team.

Meanwhile, Guren and Yukimaru arrived at the hideout she left her team in, and found out that they're being tracked by Konoha shinobi. Guren decides that it'd be best to simply get rid of them, so has her team go out to confront them while she watches and sees how they operate, both her team and Konoha's, then, she'll formulate a plan to end them.

As Guren is heading out, she tells Yukimaru, "I have something to take care of. You stay here and wait for me. I'll come back here when I'm done. Don't run around, Lord Orochimaru asked me to take care of you."

Yukimaru is filled with fear as he remembers his mother saying the same thing before she died, getting him to quickly grab Guren by her rope belt and respond in concern, "But, my mother never returned."

Guren asks in confusion, "Huh?"

Yukimaru explains, "I wanted to see a red camellia, but that was not the right one. That was a white camellia, in fact. Everyone has left.", getting Guren to wonder if he's talking about his hometown.

Yukimaru then removes his charm from around his neck and hands it to Guren, getting her to respond in shock, "You... This is...!"

Yukimaru replies while pulling out the crystalized camellia she gave him, "I have this, so this one is for you."

Guren responds while taking it, "You want to exchange it, right? Alright.", placing it around her neck and leaving.

Kakashi and his team, with the absence of Shino, are tracking the scent of the bat that the enemy is using to spy on them. They come to a stop as Akamaru growls, indicating that he's picked up the enemies scent.

Kakashi orders, "Hinata, take a look."

Hinata replies while activating her Byakugan, "Yes Kakashi-sensei!", looking ahead to see four chakra signature, and reports, "Confirmed, four shinobi's chakra detected!"

Kakashi responds, "Alright, lets move in on them with caution. Remember that we need at least one of them alive to give us the whereabouts of Kabuto, preferably their leader, so follow my lead."

Hinata interrupts, "Wait! There's another one! Behind us! Move!", having seen Gozu moving behind them.

Gozu pops out from behind them with his right, enlarged, arm cocked back, yelling, "So your the leader!", aiming for Kakashi.

Kakashi's team splits up to avoid the ground shattering blow of Gozu, who takes the opportunity to punch Kakashi away from Hinata and Kiba, so he can keep him busy while the rest of his team kills off the other two.

Kiba yells out in concern as Kakashi is batted away, "Kakashi-sensei!"

Hinata gets Kiba's attention by yelling out, " Don't Kiba!", stopping him from chasing after Kakashi and allowing him to dodge the kunai thrown his way, and notice three men approaching them, Rinji in the center with Nurari on his right, and Kigiri on his left.

Rinji comments, "I missed. But since Gozu is taking care of their boss, it looks like things will be easy. You've got quite the tracking ability, it really is unfortunate."

Hinata moves to Kiba's side and whispers, "It's them, the one's I saw earlier. I think we just walked into their trap."

Kiba replies, "Yeah, The way we were attacked once finding them and how they split us off from Kakashi-sensei, it's obviously a trap, but, these are most likely the guys from the hideout we found. So, hopefully they can lead us to Kabuto."

Hinata asks in concern, "There's three of them Kiba, what should we do?"

Kiba responds, "Me and Akamaru's jutsu are linked, so we need to take out one of them right off the bat, evening our odds. I want to say we can handle them from there, but we should try to just hold them off until Kakashi-sensei returns.", getting Hinata to nod in return.

Kiba is thinking about how the one in the center must be the leader, so they need him alive for now. Moving over to the masked on the left, he decides that he'll be harder to handle, so moves on to the bodysuit one and decides to take him out.

Kiba yells out, "Come on Akamaru!", who transforms into Kiba and charges with him at Nurari, using their Fang over Fang to drill towards him.

Rinji order, "Kigiri, make a smokescreen!", as they jump out the way of Kiba's attack that's still barreling down on Nurari.

Kigiri releases a smokescreen, consuming the area in thick smoke just as Kiba's attack is about to hit it's mark.

Kiba lands on all fours as he misses Nurari, and says in shocked panic, "Posion gas!"

Akamaru barks at him, letting him know that it's not posion, but makes Kiba wonder what it is. Sniffing around, Kiba comes to the shocking conclusion that the smoke erases all scents in the area, explaining why he was never able to find their scents before. Just as he comes to this conclusion, he's kicked in the back of his head, sent slamming face first into a tree.

Kiba grunts in pain while saying, "Huh! This damn smoke erases my sense of smell while obscuring my vision! How am I suppose to fight what I can't even sense where they are?!", Akamaru growling in agreement.

The next several minutes are spend with Nurari kicking and punching Kiba and Akumaru around, laughing at their helplessness the whole time.

Rinji interrupts Nurari's fun by ordering, "That's enough, finish them already! We need to hunt down the little girl that ran off."

Nurari shrugs his shoulder while replying, "Fine. They're too pathetic to continue anyways, best put them out of their miseries."

As Nurari moves in on the battered Kiba and Akamaru, feeling like he's already won, Hinata appears to juken strike Nurari, landing a fatal blow.

Kiba comments, "Took you long enough Hinata, did you take care of it?"

Hinata replies, "Yes, that problems been neutralized Kiba. Sorry it took so long but-.", she's suddenly interrupted by Nurari kicking her aside.

Kiba yells out as Hinata screams in pain, "Hinata!"

Then he turns his focus to Nurari, "How are you still alive?! Hinata never misses her mark anymore and I know heard her make contact with you?!"

Nurari mocks, "The gentle fist technique doesn't work on me, so, little boy, the little girl can't save you now!"

As Nurari laughs at his superiority, Hinata once again speeds towards him and lands a blow to his forehead, getting him to mock, "Ha! The suit's just a fashion statement! Do you really think I'd leave my head expos-", he stops suddenly as blood bursts through his eyes, nose, and ears!

Nurari drops dead, as Kiba use's his fang over fang technique to blow away all the smoke, getting a shocked Rinji to ask, "How?! Nurari excretes a slime-like substance that repels chakra! The Hyuga's gentle fist techniques are useless against him!"

Hinata raises her hand and shows an electric current flowing around it while explaining, "I noticed that when my first attack failed, but, by changing my chakra nature to lightning and combining it with my juken strike, I was able to cause the lightning to bypass the membrane of slime around his body and strike his brain. Once inside his skull, I applied medical ninjutsu to channel the lightning through the neurons in his brain to short circuit them, liquefying his brain matter."

Kiba adds, "Medical ninjutsu was created to save lives just like a scalpel, and just like a scapel, it can just as easily be used to kill someone. Hinata's ability to add her lightning change in nature with her gentle fist style is lethal enough, but by also combining her medical ninjutsu, she's practically a killing machine!"

Kigiri asks, "Rinji! What are we going to do now?!"

Rinji smirks and yells out, "Now Kiho!", expecting him to emerge from the bushes and fire poison smoke bombs at them.

When nothing happens, Kiba smugly explains, "What? Did you think I was just letting your tights wearing friend knock me around for fun? I was stalling as Hinata sneaked around and killed your hidden comrade! Her Byakugan detected his presence from the very beginning, so I let myself be toyed with as she took care of him, after all, your smokescreen all but made my sense of smell useless anyways. Besides, it's not like me and Akamaru haven't had worse beatings! Hell, the love taps my mom gives me hurts a lot worse then the entire beating I took!"

Hinata adds, "Your mistake was concluding that I was a weak little girl that ran away. Focusing on taking out Kiba and Akamaru, thinking that they were the bigger threat, just cost you the lives of two of your comrades, and now evens the odds in our favor."

Rinji replies, "Really? There's two of you and a mutt, who are tired and beat up, while the two of us are unharmed and at full strength! Do you really think the odds are in your favor?"

Off in the distance, an explosion of dirt and debris goes off, getting Guren to comment to herself, "Hmm, looks like it's started. This is a good chance to see both my enemies and my allies abilities. The preparations are complete, so it's about time for me to make my move as well.", making a hand-sign that causes a crystal plant to sprout from the ground and bloom into a crystal flower.

Kakashi's fight with Gozu looked one-sided as he was being pummeled into the ground by Gozu, but it turned out to be a shadow clone. Kakashi took Gozu by surprise and held him at knife point from behind, but Gozu seemed to deflate and suddenly disappear in a massive surge of sudden speed. Kakashi concluded that that while he was buffed up, his muscles were pushed to the highest degree for massive strength, but, by deflating those muscles, he equally increased his speed.

Must be from Orochimaru experimenting on Gozu's muscles. With Gozu's increased speed, Kakashi was forced to use his Sharingan to evade his attacks. But, just as he adjusted to Gozu's straight forward attacks, Gozu started changing his attack pattern by firing mud from his mouth, changing his direction on a dime. Kakashi, who had primed a chidori to take him out, was forced to suddenly adjust his attack, not knowing if he'd make it in time to counter Gozu.

Back with Hinata and Kiba, Kigiri had flooded the area with his smoke screen again, forcing Kiba and Akamaru to rely on Hinata to help them dodge Rinji and Kigiri's attacks. Neither one wanted to get close to Hinata, seeing as she's already killed two of their teammates single handed, now focusing on keeping her at bay while trying to kill Kiba. With Rinji's ability to use ultrasonic waves to survey the battle field and give instructions to Kigiri, they were able to separate Kiba and Akamaru from Hinata. As Kigiri's smoke clones keep her busy, Rinji and Kigiri were double teaming Kiba and Akamaru, who couldn't even tell where the attacks were coming from.

Just as Rinji was preparing to finish them off, he senses something and orders, "Kigiri, that's enough! I sense something coming, we need to go! Blow the smoke to cover our escape!"

Rinji and Kigiri leap away from the smoke filled area as Kigiri lets loose a fire ball jutsu, igniting the smoke and causing an explosion to consume Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata as they run away.

Once the fire dissipated, it revealed Hinata standing in a small crater from using her rotation to protect herself from the flame, but Kiba and Akamaru are nowhere to be seen. That is until Kiba pops out of the ground with Akamaru following after him, having used earth jutsu to tunnel underground to avoid the explosion.

Hinata asks, "Why'd they flee all of a sudden?"

Kiba is interrupted as Shino appears on a tree branch above them, commenting, "It seems that they have someone who's also skilled at detection."

Hinata happily replies, "Shino! I'm glad your back! Did you find your beetles in time?"

Shino answers, "Yes, and they've produced enough offspring to hopefully give me a weapon against that strange jutsu of theirs."

Kiba responds a bit irritably, "Well, they'd better! I didn't like being kicked around for nothing Shino!"

Before Shino can reply, Kakashi appears unharmed and saying, "It seems that your targets escaped."

Hinata apologizes, "Sorry Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi waves her off while replying, "Now, now. It's no big deal. I lost sight of my target as well, they're better than we anticipated, that's all. Besides, it looks like you were able to take down two of them, so we'll have less to deal with during our next skirmish.", pointing to the corpse lying behind them and the one in the bushes.

Kiba corrects, "You mean thanks to Hinata. I just got my ass handed to me! That's all!"

Hinata tries to calm Kiba down by saying, "That's not true Kiba. I was only able to kill them thanks to your diversion.", getting Kiba to feel a little bit better, but he silently promises to do better next time.

Guren is watching them through a crystal ball while commenting, "No wonder Gizu and Rinji were out matched. I didn't expect the Copy Ninja, Kakashi to be here. But no matter, I'll succeed regardless of who gets in my way."

Meanwhile, Team Yamato has followed Naruto's lead to the forest that the search team is currently in, just as he exits Sage Mode.

Yamato orders, "Alright, Sai, I want you to fly over and report back on what you see. I want information on the topography of the area, any structures, and all possible escape routes mapped out."

Sai responds, "Yes sir!", proceeding to use his cartoon art to create a large ink bird and jumping on it's back to follow his orders.

Sakura asks, "What should we do? Should we proceed to join up with Kakashi-sensei's team?"

Yamato turns his attention to Naruto and asks, "Is Kakashi's team still engaged with the enemy?"

Naruto answers, "No. The enemies team seems to have given Kakashi's team the slip, but they were able to take out two of them before hand. So It's safe to assume that the enemy is regrouping to lick their wounds with the strongest of them, that was apparently sitting out on the action."

Fuu comments, "That one must have been their leader who was watching to gain intelligence on Kakashi's sensei's team."

Yamato replies, "Yes, that's most likely it, but, seeing as Kakashi's search team is reunited and no longer engaged in combat, we'll maintain our current position while Sai finishes his recon. Then we'll move in, circling around the enemy while cutting off their escape routes. Hopefully pinning them down between our teams and successfully capturing them. So take this time to rest and prepare to move out."

After receiving affirmative responses, Naruto senses a familiar chakra and decides to check it out, getting Sakura to ask him, "Hey! Where are you going?"

Naruto lies, "Um, well, I need to go pee.", chuckling softly while scratching the back of his head.

Getting Sakura to blush while muttering under her breath, "At least this time you're leaving first.", secretly having the thoughts of the time she caught him and Hinata going at it in the woods.

Naruto follows the signature to a camellia tree just as fog rolls in, spotting Yukimaru, asking, "It is you, after all, What're you doing here?", remembering meeting him while soaking in the hot springs at the resort he found pervy sage at.

Yukimaru turns to face the tree while commenting, "Not all camellia trees are short. Some that grow in the wild are this tall."

Getting Naruto to reply, "What are talking about? It's me! You know, from the hot springs!", moving a little closer.

Yukimaru responds, "Everyone has someplace to go home to. Wherever someone's thinking of you, that's where you go home to."

Naruto smiles while bending down to Yukimaru's eye-level and replies, "Isn't that what I taught you?", standing straight and becoming more serious, continues, "Never mind that, though. You're alone, aren't you? Where are your friends? Your family?"

Yukimaru looks at the tree with a saddened look and says, "The white camellias turned, red. Then they disappeared, all of them."

Naruto sympathetically replies, "Just as I thought, you're all alone, aren't you? If that's the case, do you want to come with us?! Come with us to our hometown. We're on a mission right now, but when we're done, we'll come back for you, or better yet, I can teleport you there right now."

Yukimaru thinks about Guren and responds with a little smile, "I have to wait. Where there's someone thinking of me, that's where I go home to."

Naruto replies, "Yes, that's right!"

Yukimaru moves his left hand to his chin into a thinking pose and saying, "Is there anyone thinking of me? I hope there is."

Naruto asks, "Could it be that there's someone thinking of you?"

Yukimaru pulls out the camellia Guren gave him and answers, "When I broke out in a fever, that person cared for me without sleeping"

Naruto responds happily, "I see! That shows that person was thinking of you!"

Yukimaru replies with a smile, "I hope so."

Naruto explains, "Listen, follow that person! Don't let that person go!", getting Yukimaru to nod his head in agreement.

Naruto suddenly senses Fuu's approach, letting Yukimaru slip away as he looks up at her on an tall rock formation behind him. Turning back around, Naruto notices that Yukimaru is gone, but senses his chakra headed off, so doesn't worry, seeing that he has someone that's taking care of him.

Fuu lands in front of Naruto, wrapping her hands around his neck and kissing him, getting him to say afterwards, "I'm not complaining, but you know the rules about having sex while on a mission. I know it's been a while Fuu, but you're going to have to wait until we go back home."

Fuu unwraps her arms from around his neck and nervously replies, "I-I know. It's just that, you see, while you were away, I-I had sex with Ino!"

Naruto takes a moment to process that bit of knowledge before responding happily, "That's great Fuu! You've been trying to get into Ino's pants for awhile now!"

Fuu looks shocked, not expecting that, utters out, "W-what?! Aren't you mad at me for cheating on you?"

Naruto grabs Fuu by her shoulders and explains, "Listen to me Fuu-chan. I already figured you would with some woman, especially with the way you constantly talked about it, so duh! I'm sleeping with Hinata-chan, I slept with Yugito, and it looks like I'll be adding more women to my bedroom, so who am I to judge you. As long as you love her, and she's ok with our arrangement, then it's fine with me. I trust you, and more importantly, I love you.", kissing her to further prove his point.

Fuu returns his kiss and then responds, "Thank you Naruto-kun, and I love you too.", where they spend the next few minutes making out before having to join back up with their teammates.

Back with Guren, she's sitting on a boulder with Rinji, Gozu, and Kigiri standing in front of her as she comments, "You guys are a pathetic lot! Your numbers have practically been cut in half!"

Rinji replies, "We're ashamed. Those guys were quite skilled. I wasn't expecting them to kill off Nurari and Kiho so easily."

Guren responds, "Well, because of that, we got a look at what they can do. Kakashi and that Hyuga girl are about the only troublesome ones, and with my jutsu, the Hyuga's abilities will be almost useless. The first thing we need to do is to deal with Kakashi. We can't let those guys interfere with Lord Orochimaru's plans. I'll see to the rest."

Guren moves to the end of a cliff over seeing the forested area that Kakashi's team is in, Shino's beetles swarming around in search of her team, blurring through hand-signs Guren shouts out, "Blossom! Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Labyrinth!", having placed seeds of the octangular jade crystal in a eight trigrams, eight square formation around the area, trapping Kakashi's team inside an octangular crystal prison.

Inside the prison, Kakashi has ordered his team to move forward to pursue the enemy, only to get Shino to say, "No wait!"

Getting Kiba to ask, "What is it Shino?"

Shino explains, "The parasitic insects are behaving strangely. It's as though they can't find their way out."

Kiba replies, "What do you mean?"

Shino futher explains, "How do I describe it? They seem to have lost all their senses and seem to be wandering aimlessly."

Hinata asks, "Could it be some sort of genjutsu?"

Kiba comments, "One of them did use a ultrasonic attack to mess with my sense of balance. Maybe he's doing it to your insects, but neither Akamaru or myself hear anything like that."

Kakashi orders, "Hinata, check to see if there is a sealing jutsu or a barrier."

Hinata responds, "Will do.", proceeding to use her Byakugan to look ahead.

Hinata ends up only seeing herself being reflected back at her infinitely, closing her eyes while falling to one knee.

Kakashi ask, "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Hinata answers, "Infinite images of us.", Kakashi thinking with concern at how the Byakugan was overcome.

With Guren, who's now inside the prison, uses her "Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Mirror.", to create a full body mirror, getting her to look at her reflection and say, "Lovely as always, Jade Crystal Clone Jutsu.", while making a hand-sign. Her reflection multiplies and moves out of the mirror, forming six crystal clones with the mirror shattering afterwards.

Back with Kakashi's team, Shino's insects are swarming back to him as Kakashi guesses, "Seems they were sealed within a barrier of some kind."

Shino replies, "We thought we had the enemy sealed off with the parasitic insects, but their outer perimeter was further off, is that it?"

Akamaru barks, getting Kiba to warn, "The enemy!", as spinning shuriken speed towards them, to only shatter into dozens of crystal shards, shooting out in all directions.

As Kakashi's team splits apart to avoid the onslaught of crystal shards that are tearing the trees apart, allowing Guren's clone to attack each member of Kakashi's team, one by one, keeping them separated from each other. The clones grow blue crystal blades along their right forearms, forcing Kiba, Shino, and Kakashi on the defensive. Kakashi reveals his sharingan to try and analyze her ability to seemingly materialize an infinite number of weapons, only for her to tell him that it's useless, her Crystal Style can't be copied.

Hinata, who's been cut off from her teammates, hides in some bushes to try and use her Byakugan again, only to met with the same images as before, making her realize it's useless.

Guren appears, leaning against the tree with her arms crossed by the bushes Hinata is hiding in, commenting, "I hear you've got good eyes, but inside my Jade Crystal, light is refracted. Your good eyesight works against you."

Hinata stands up and replies while facing her, "I have more than just Byakugan!", jumping to face Guren while taking her fighting stance.

Guren chuckles and responds, "You want to fight me face-to-face? What can you do with your eyes sealed? Are you that anxious to die?", a smug tone laced through her voice.

Hinata activates her Byakugan, forcing herself to focus with pure determination to get Guren's image to solidify into one place as she nonchalantly walks towards Hinata. Remembering how hard she's trained to get Naruto to acknowledge her abilities and the vigorous sparring sessions with Neji, she activates her "Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Plams!", slamming in to Guren at frightening speed. As the sixty-four palm strikes hit all of Guren's chakra points, she ends up getting slammed through the tree she was leaning against earlier, causing the tree to splinter apart and her to shatter into crystal pieces.

Hinata's eyes widen in shock before she quickly turns around to see Guren holding a hand-sign and saying, "Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Prison!", instantly capturing Hinata inside a crystal prison!

The rest of Kakashi's search team regroups as Guren's clones flee, getting them to wonder why and where Hinata is, getting Guren to answer, "Here's your friend", having the crystal prison holding Hinata sprout from the ground.

Kiba yells out, "Hinata!"

Meanwhile, with Team Yamato, having seen the crystal dome form, they stand near it as Sai fills them in on what he was able to map out before and after it formed. Naruto has already entered Sage Mode and informed them that Kakashi's team is fine and that there appears to be only one enemy inside with them, using clones to engage Kakashi's team. Also that there is a three man team waiting outside the dome, most likely the crystal users teammates.

Yamato replies, "I think it's about a kilometer across. The crystal user is very skilled."

Naruto suggests, "Let's break it down right away."

Yamato replies, "Hold on a minute, Naruto. There's a kind of barrier here. We can't risk the possibility that it's been rigged somehow."

Yamato moves toward the barrier while having his right index finger change into wood, then proceeds to tap it with his wooden appendage, and when nothing happens, he says, "It's okay. It doesn't react to an attack from the outside."

Sakura comments, "We know that the others are trapped inside, but if there's a trap set up, this is going to be trouble."

Naruto asks while touching the crystal barrier, "Captain Yamato, can't we break inside the same way we did when we snuck into Orochimaru's hideout?"

Yamato explains, "I'm afraid that this crystal possesses an extremely tight structure at the molecular level. Unlike the wall around Orochimaru's hideout, there are no weak spots, but if we went from underground...", placing his hand on the ground and having it transform into wood, and burrowing through the ground.

Only for it to come piercing back up, getting Yamato to say with some frustration, "Even the ground itself is encased in crystal. There are no weak spots at all. It appears very strong. It doesn't look like we could break it with a jutsu concentrated at one point."

Sakura responds, "I agree. With something this large, the force would be dispersed equally, weakening the power of the attack"

Yamato nods his and replies, "Yes. It would have to be a jutsu that could do both widespread and powerful damage."

Naruto smiles while saying, "Alright! I'll handle it!"

Sakura replies immediately, "No Naruto! You can't use the Rasenshuriken! You've been told that if you continue to use it, then you'll lose the ability to mold chakra!", concern evident in her voice.

Naruto calmly responds, "True, but thanks to my mastering of senjutsu, I've overcome that problem. Just watch and see Sakura. Believe me, I know my jutsu and body better than anyone else."

Fuu decides to chime in, "Hey! I know your body just as much as you, if not better!"

Naruto chuckles and replies, "I know you do, so obviously, you know I can do it too, right?"

Fuu gives Naruto a smirk and responds, "Of course you can!"

Back with Guren, who's standing next to the crystalized Hinata, she makes her crystal blade on her left forearm and holds it to Hinata while threatening, "If you guys keep following us, then your friend will end up as shattered shards of light!", bringing worried looks to all their faces.

Over with Yamato's team, Naruto has jumped above the barrier and created a clone to help him make the Rasenshuriken during freefall, while having his teammates look up in awe at his amazing jumping ability and wondering if his jutsu looks different than they remember. It seems to be giving off more chakra than before, yet seems far more stable as well.

Then their jaws practically hit the ground as Naruto then throws the Rasenshuriken, watching at it slams into the crystal barrier, shattering it like it was made of glass! Then the sheer force of the jutsu crashes into them, knocking them back as they struggle to stay upright with some of the nearby trees giving way and being blown away.

Inside the barrier with Guren and Kakashi's team, they all look up at the massive explosion above them that's shattering the barrier and is slamming a powerful wind current on them. Having recognized the jutsu, Kakashi is relieved to know that their backup has arrived, but knows that it doesn't change they fact that Hinata is being held hostage. Kiba and Shino are simply shocked that Naruto has a jutsu that powerful, well, Kiba's more jealous than anything.

Guren on the other hand, can't look away from the stunning form of Naruto, the moment she felt her barrier shatter and the immense chakra overwhelm her, she became captivated by the one responsible. Then, seeing him land right in front of Kakashi, eclipsing even the legendry Copy Ninja with his presence, she feels awestruck.

She's only felt this once before, when Orochimaru slaughtered her home village, his power captivating her entire being. Now she feels it once more from this handsome blond shinobi, his power feeling just a strong as Orochimaru's, perhaps stronger, yet it has a unfamiliar warmth to it. A chill runs up her spine as she looks into Naruto's fierce toad-like eyes, and a moistness forming in her panties as she eyes his firm body.

Guren is snapped out her stupor by Naruto yelling out, "Hinata! You! What did you do to Hinata?!", anger laced in his voice, yet he maintains his composure, standing straight with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Guren feels another chill mixed with arousal flood her body as Kakashi explain, "Relax Naruto. We can't attack her recklessly since Hinata has been taken hostage. Besides, any small shock will cause that crystal to shatter. What a mess."

Fuu links them all up, getting Yamato to say, {Sai, I want you and Fuu to hit her from above while I distract her.}

Sai and Fuu give affirmative responses, getting Naruto to add, {You guys can go ahead and try, but if I see an opening to rescue Hinata-chan, I'm taking it! Saving her is all that matters right now!}, while never breaking his composure.

Kakashi replies, {Naruto's right. Our first priority is rescuing Hinata, but considering the fragile state she is currently in, we should retreat once we have her. With Naruto here we can quickly track the enemy down again.}

Fuu adds, {Plus, Naruto said that the crystal users teammates were waiting out side the barrier. So, they are most likely already on their way here.}, Naruto confirms Fuu's theory by sensing their approach.

Guren regains her control and starts chuckling, but yells, "Freeze!", as she notices Sai and Yamato making a step forward in preparation to attack.

Naruto takes the chance to throw a kunai right next to Hinata, getting Guren to smugly laugh out, "You get a single shot a me and you miss! Kami! You're not what I thought you were! You are nothing like Lord-"

Only to be interrupted by Naruto Hirashining to Hinata and having a shadow clone attack Guren, so he can gently remove the encased Hinata from the ground and teleporting them both away in a flash of orange. With her attention focused on destroying Naruto's shadow clone, who has already shattered her crystal blade with a palm strike so powerful that she felt her bones creek, Guren is suddenly surrounded by Kiba's smoke bombs. Responding immediately, Guren bombards the entire smoke filled area in large crystal blades, destroying Naruto's clone in the process, only to find out that she hit nothing when the smoke clears.

Naruto reappears by Fuu, who had already flown off once the fight started, with the others following after them until they reach a clearing with a hollowed out tree, and after confirming that the enemy isn't pursuing them.

Naruto has placed Hinata upright while making sure not to crack the crystal, getting Kakashi to ask, "Naruto, is Hinata still alive in there?"

Naruto answers, "Yes, I can still feel her chakra signature, so she has to be."

Prompting Fuu to ask, "Then how are we suppose to rescue her if all of Hinata's bodily fluids have been crystalized?!", an almost frantic worry evident in her voice.

Shino replies, "So it's true that my beetle's were crystalized on the cellular level? Then I'm afraid that there maybe nothing we can do."

Sakura responds, "At least from here anyways. We need to get her back to the village and hopefully Lady Tsunade can figure out a way to save her."

Kakashi agrees, "Yes, Naruto can Hirashin her to Lady Hokage immediately and-Naruto! What are you doing?!"

Naruto has taken a stance in front of Hinata in preparation to shatter the crystal encasing her, explaining, "Back when my shadow clone shattered the crystal users blade with senjutsu, I felt how it was structured. Then there is the fact that as I was touching the crystal encasing Hinata's body, I felt through nature chakra that the crystal stops around her skin. In sort, I sense a chakra membrane surrounding Hinata-chan, but I don't know how long it will last and whether the crystal will continue to spread once it fails. So, instead of wasting time on guessing on what to do, I'm going to free Hinata now!"

Shino responds, "That would explain why some of my beetles were able to survive the crystallization."

Kakashi replies, "It is a reasonable theory, but if we're wrong, then Hinata will die."

Naruto says firmly, "Trust me. My sensory ability while in Sage Mode is unmistaken. This is our best chance to free Hinata."

Yamato responds, "It's true that your sensory abilities have grown exponentially, but I'm not certain that we should risk Hinata's life on just that. We won't get a second chance at this."

Kakashi closes his eye and thinks about it, before replying, "Alright Naruto, do it. Sakura, once Hinata's free, I want a full evaluation on the status of her well being."

Sakura replies with uncertainty, "Y-yes Kakashi-sensei. I just hope your right and we don't end up killing her."

Naruto proceeds to slam his palm into the crystal, making sure to control the nature energy around Hinata's body to protect her from the shock. The crystal shatters into tiny particles, freeing a seemingly unharmed Hinata into Naruto's waiting arms.

Naruto gently lowers her onto her back as Sakura move to her left and starts examining her, telling everyone, "She's alive!", getting sighs of relief from everyone as Sakura continues to examine Hinata.

Hinata awakens to find herself free and over hearing Kakashi and Shino talking about Naruto's theory being right, and decides to sit up to explain, getting Sakura to say, "Don't move so soon Hinata.", grabbing her by the shoulders to help her stay up.

With everyone's attention on her, Hinata explains, "When I received the jutsu, I released my chakra from my chakra points all at once, to make a thin film in which to cover myself."

Shino responds, "I see. Naruto was right, even her Crystal Style failed to crystallize chakra."

Kakashi praises with an eye-smile, "Although you face the unexpected, you did a great job, Hinata."

Hinata smiles a bit as Kiba comments, "Only a Hyuga could pull that off. Hinata, you're awesome!", Akamaru barking in agreement.

Naruto, having exited Sage Mode, adds, "I'm glad you're okay Hinata. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Hinata gains a light blush as she replies, "Sorry you had to worry about me, Naruto."

Naruto responds by kneeling down in front of her and placing his right hand against Hinata's left cheek affectionately while saying, "No need to apologize. The fact that you're okay is all I need."

Getting Hinata to place her hand on top of his and lean into it affectionately while muttering out, "I love you Naruto-kun."

Everyone smiles at their tender moment, with Sakura thinking about how much she wants the same thing, only being interrupted by Yamato asking, "Well, Senpai, what are we going to do now?"

Kakashi responds, "Well... Let's see...", looking a Hinata while thinking about what to do with her current condition.

Recognizing his look, Hinata insists, "I-I'm all right.", then starts moving to try and stand up.

Sakura stops her by saying, "Don't force yourself just yet."

Shino comments, "I think we were lucky because Hinata was the only victim of the Crystal Style."

Kakashi replies, "We don't have any countermeasures against the Crystal Style at this point, so retreating is the best option for now."

Naruto responds, "Yeah, we should wait to make sure that Hinata is fully recovered before we continue to pursue the enemy. I can keep tabs on them from here by staying in Sage Mode, and if they start to travel to far from here, I can have a shadow clone follow after them."

Kiba comments, "It's good to have someone that can track them by sensing chakra, seeing as they can erase their scent."

Kakashi replies, "True, with Naruto here we can track them with ease now, but I want to add that once we move on them, I don't want anyone to engage them. We're here to find out what they're up to and see if they can lead us to Kabuto.", getting affirmative responses from everyone there.

Meanwhile, Guren and her team return to there hideout where Yukimaru is waiting, getting him to run to her while calling out her name, a smile spread across his face.

Once he stops in front of her, Guren asks, "Is everything okay?"

Yukimaru answers, "I ran into someone I know."

Getting Rinji to stop and ask, "What?!"

Guren continues, "Who was that?"

Yukimaru replies, "The man with the headband"

Getting Rinji to say in confused concern, "Headband? Could it be the guy we just met?"

Prompting Guren to ask Yukimaru, "How do you know about him?"

Yukimaru explains, "Um, well, oh! When I went out with Kabuto the other day, I met him. The man said he has a place to return to. And asked me to return with him, but I didn't. Because I thought that was not the kind of place where I could return to."

Gozu asks, "Was that just a coincidence?"

Rinji responds, "I think so. Because there's no way they saw us and this kid together. Well, what should we do, Guren?", who's currently sitting down away from Guren and Yukimaru.

Guren looks at Rinji and answers, "There can only be one answer.", moving to kneel down and place her hands on Yukimaru's shoulders while saying with a smile, "Good boy, thanks for coming back. It's not them to whom you return, but to me. But if he's your friend, I want to say hello to him. Where did you see him?"

Getting Rinji to ask, "Are you going to track them?"

Guren responds while moving to stand in front of Rinji, "Yeah. Once I decide to go after something, I stick with it. That's the way I do things.", while secretly wondering if she'd be able to beat him, and if it's a fight she actually wants to have. The excitement and awe of Naruto's presence is still embedded in her body.

Kabuto interrupts, "Guren, that's a bad habit.", getting everyone to face him as he enters their hideout.

Yukimaru replies, "Kabuto-san!"

Kabuto continues, "It's easy for you to go overboard."

Guren responds in shocked disgust, "What?!"

Kabuto smugly replies, "I hope you have some remorse. Based on the story I just heard, I think you were very lucky that they didn't take Yukimaru away. If you lose Yukimaru, Guren, You'll lose credibility with Lord Orochimaru.", getting a worried look to cross Guren's face.

Later, Kabuto, Guren, Gozu, and Yukimaru are on a boat at the lake that Kabuto had taken Yukimaru to earlier, the one containing the Three Tails. Rinji and Kigiri are standing on the dock with mist filling the area.

Kabuto says to them, "Sorry, but you guys must stay here and watch out for the Konoha-nin. Be especially wary of Uzumaki Naruto, he's the one who destroyed Guren's barrier. He was strong enough to critically injure Lord Orochimaru, even though it was with Sasuke's help, it's still an impressive feat. Also, his sensory ability is quite formidable, he most likely knows that we're here, so expect them to be here soon. Remember, your job is to keep them from interfering in our test run with controlling the Three Tails."

Rinji asks irritably, "What?! We can't come with you?!"

Guren scolds, "Rinji, this time just follow what Kabuto says!"

Rinji lowers his head and replies, "All right. If you say so, Guren."

Kabuto responds, "Sorry. Let's go.", getting Gozu to start rowing the boat forward.

Kabuto notices Yukimaru dragging his hand across the water with a gloomy expression, and asks, "What's wrong Yukimaru?"

Yukimaru explains, "Kabuto-san, I have a bad feeling. When I took the medicine, my head really hurt."

Kabuto replies, "Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong. When something happens, Guren will protect you."

A large smile breaks across Yukimaru's face and gets him to ask Guren, "Really?"

Guren responds a little shakily, "Y-yeah. That's true.", a smile appearing on her face.

Naruto is leading Kakashi, Yamato, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru to the lake, having sensed Kabuto meeting up with the crystal user and her team at there hideout, and then moving out to the lake with the boy he saw earlier. Then Kabuto, the crystal user, one of her team members and the boy split from their group, leaving behind two of them, and are moving out to the center of the lake. Wanting to see what they're up to, Kakashi formed their team to go and investigate, while looking out for the opportunity to capture Kabuto.

Kakashi asks, "Naruto, can you sense anything in that lake?"

Naruto answers, "Well, I can sense fish and other aquatic life forms, but I can't really sense anything that'd be worth Kabuto exposing himself for. Though, I do sense a lot of nature chakra coming from the lake, but that could just because of how healthy the lake is and that it's in the center of a large forest."

Shino chimes in, "Perhaps it's an item or scroll that holds a lot of value."

Kiba asks, "Then what does this boy that Naruto supposedly met before has to do with it?"

Naruto replies, feeling a bit offended, "Hey! What do you mean supposedly?! I know what I saw and I remember the feel of his chakra! It's very unique, but I wouldn't expect you to know that dog breath!"

Kiba fires back, "What did you say GENIN?! You should be careful how you talk to your superior!"

Naruto returns fire, "Hey! don't get all uppity with me just because you're a chunin! After all, the last I checked, I've defeated three members of the Akatsuki while you got your butt handed to you by a bunch of Orochimaru's lackeys! Oh, and it's thanks to me that we can even track these guys down because your most valued ability is useless against them!"

Kakashi get them to stop bickering by ordering, "That's enough you two! Stay on mission! I expect better from the both of you, you're not children anymore, so act like it!"

Naruto and Kiba lower there heads in shame and apologizes simultaneously, "Sorry Kakashi-sensei. It won't happen again."

Kakashi replies, "Good. Now Naruto, can you elaborate on what you meant by the boy's chakra being unique?"

Naruto takes a moment to think about it, before explaining, "Well, it's hard to describe, really. When I first met him, his chakra felt lonely, kind of like how Gaara's and mine were. Though the last time I saw him, near this area actually, he seemed a little more happy, his chakra was brighter. But the strangest part was that when I sense him now in Sage Mode, I can feel something similar to nature chakra resonating from him, but that shouldn't be possible, right?"

Yamato responds, "Maybe it's due to Orochimaru experimenting on him. We once received intelligence from Lord Jiraiya that Orochimaru was interested in senjutsu and was looking for a way to use it himself."

Kakashi continues, "And now Kabuto is trying to do the same thing by using this boy as a lab rat. That could explain why he's here, a place with an abundance of nature chakra, to give his experiment a better chance of success."

Naruto replies, "Then we need to hurry and stop him!"

Kakashi responds, "No. Not until we see exactly what Kabuto's up to. We're only guessing at what his intentions are, so only once we know for sure what he's doing, do we stop him, Naruto."

Naruto wants to yell out against the plan, but decides to hold his tongue and replies somewhat begrudgingly, "Understood Kakashi-sensei."

Back with Kabuto's group on the lake, Gozu asks Kabuto, "What are you going to due here?"

Kabuto answers, "Well, I'll perform a little test. With him and Guren.", he proceeds to pull out a device with several nodes on it and orders Yukimaru, "Here, put this on."

Yukimaru takes it and puts it on his head and painfully inserts the needle tipped sensors into his temples. Kabuto then takes out a pill bottle and dumps about a dozen pills into his right hand to give Yukimaru.

Guren suddenly stands up and says with worry, "If you give him that much medicine-", stopping herself from scaring Yukimaru.

Kabuto asks, "Are you trying to disrupt Lord Orochimaru's plan?", getting Guren to gasp in shock, she'd never betray Lord Orochimaru.

As Guren yields, Kabuto kneels down in front of Yukimaru and places the pills in his hand while saying, "Don't worry. Let's start something fun. This medicine is different from what you took before. This medicine won't bring you any suffering. You can't go back until you take this."

Yukimaru looks uncertainly at Guren, asking silently if it's okay, getting her to smile softly and nod her head. Taking that as it being okay, Yukimaru downs the fistful of pills, as Guren's face shifts to one of concern as she worries about the damage those pills could cause him.

Kabuto snaps Guren out of her concern by ordering, "Guren, it's your turn."

Getting Guren to snap at him, "Stop being so bossy all the time! Your not Lord Orochimaru!", then proceeds to blur through some hand-signs, "Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Hexagonal Column!", getting five massive crystal columns to rise around them, forming a hexagon.

Yukimaru begins to breath heavily before a shooting pain takes him, getting him to grab his throat as chakra begins to pour from his body in waves. Once his chakra reaches it's maximum output, Yukimaru stands up and screams as a pillar of pure chakra shoots from his body into the air. That cause the waters surface to shake outwards and the crystal columns to resonate with his chakra, glowing brightly while giving off a kind of ultrasonic sound.

Light begins to form from underneath the water in front of there boat and in the center of the hexagon, getting Guren to order, "Be careful! The Three Tails is coming!", the water then explodes upward, causing the boat to shake rapidly.

Kabuto excitedly says, "The test was successful! The Three Tails will appear!", as the shadow of the Three Tails emerges with the top part of it's shell already out of the water.

Over with Naruto's group, Naruto suddenly senses the massive increase in nature chakra, but this time it feels much different. At the next moment, both Shino's beetles and Akamaru sense the powerful chakra coming from the lake.

Naruto says with shock in his voice, "I sense a massive chakra signature coming from the lake!"

Kakashi replies, "What?!"

Shino adds, "My insects feel it too. They've never felt so much chakra before."

Akamaru barks his agreement, getting Kiba to respond, "It looks like Akamaru feels the same thing as your insects!"

Naruto clarifies, "I think it was that large amount of nature energy I felt earlier, but it feels different. Like it has a will of it's own!"

Kakashi orders, "Let's hurry!", jumping ahead at a faster pace.

It doesn't take them very long to get within visual range of the lake, but it's surrounded by fog so dense that they can't see through it, causing Kiba and Akumaru to land in a tree filled with bats.

The bats signal Rinji that they are approaching, getting him to say to Kigiri, "They have us at a disadvantage, number wise. Let's buy some time until Guren gets here! Lay a somke screen!"

Kigiri replies, "Understood!", and starts filling the area with his smoke screen jutsu.

Kakashi see's the smoke screen and stops while holding his right hand up to signal the others to stop, and explains, "A smoke screen. They're lying in wait for us, but if we stay here too long, we won't be able to find out what's happening at the lake. We should split up into two groups. Naruto, you go by yourself and see what's happening at the lake. We'll create a diversion and you head off to the center of the lake, but don't attack."

Naruto responds, "Yes, understood.", then proceeds to jump away.

Yamato asks in concern, "Are you sure? Only Naruto?"

Kakashi replies, "Let's show him a bit of trust, and after mastering senjutu, he has the best chance of surviving what ever it is that's at the lake."

Naruto appears to jump into the smoke screen and look around as nothing happens, getting Shino to say, "No reaction. There's no trap.", getting the rest of them to land next to Naruto who then dissolves in to beetles and goes up Shino's sleeves.

Kiba asks, "Could they have escaped already?"

Kakashi suggest, "They're probably just trying to buy time. Stay on guard."

Back on the lake, the boat that Kabuto's group is on is being pushed back outside the hexagon as the Three Tails fully emerges from the water inside the crystal columns.

Guren comments in fear , "So that's the Three Tails."

Kabuto with equal concern states, "It's more than I expected."

Gozu adds, "What is this? This intimidation!"

Kabuto's expression changes to glee as he exclaims, "We did it, it was a success. Yukimaru is controlling the Three Tails!"

Yukimaru continues to scream as blood starts to pour from his ears and nose, getting Guren to yell out in concern for his well being, "Yukimaru!"

Kabuto replies frantically, "Damn! If he keeps using his power...!", rushing over to remove the device and stop Yukimaru.

Guren asks frantically, "If he fails, what will happen to the Three Tails?"

Kabuto answers, "Your job is to stop that from happening!", getting Guren to grunt in annoyance.

Yukimaru finally stops screaming as his chakra dissipates and he passes out, getting Guren to yell out again, "Yukimaru!"

The Three Tails then starts roaring out and slams it's head into the water, capsizing their boat, sending them all flying away into the water, Kabuto ends up catching Yukimaru and lands on the water as Gozu sinks below the surface, and Guren is sent sliding backwards and coming to a stop on top of the water.

Guren then charges toward the Three Tails while Kabuto yells out, "Guren! Hurry up and stop this beast!"

Getting Guren to yell back as she passes him, "Stop being so bossy!", coming to a stop and preparing a jutsu.

Only for the Three Tails to rush in on her in surprising speed, and just as it looks like it's about to hit her, Gozu comes shooting out of the water and pushes it back while yelling, "Hurry! Do it!"

The Three Tails shakes Gozu off just a Guren finishes her jutsu, "Crystal Style: Divine Pathway Jutsu!", causing massive blue crystal columns to rise from the water towards the Three Tails, lifting it out of the water! Unfortunately, they fail to impel it and shatter to pieces as it thrashes about.

Guren says in shock, "My crystal shattered?!", then cocks her right arm while forming a giant hexagonal shuriken and throwing it at the Three Tails while charging after it.

The shuriken shatter on impact, getting Guren to curse while running around it, trying to create a large scale jutsu that can contain it, but knows that she needs more time. Unfortunately, as Guren goes through her hand-signs, the Three Tails quickly advances on her before she can finish. Just as it look like it's all over, the Three Tails stops! Gozu has grabbed it by one of it's tails and is hopelessly trying to hold it back. He's only able to hold for a few seconds before it whips it's tails, sending him flying.

Fortunately, it was all Guren needed to perform her jutsu, "Crystal Style! Crystal Wall, 8th Formation! Eat this, turtle bastard!", encasing the Three Tails inside giant crystals.

Kabuto looks at the trapped Three Tails and comments, "She did it! Crystal Style... I never knew Guren had this much ability"

Guren falls to one knee in exhaustion, having used up too much chakra, breathing heavily as Gozu approaches her.

Back with Kakashi's group, they're having no luck find the enemy, having formed up in circle to protect each other from surprise attacks. Kiba's getting agitated from just standing there and practically explodes from bumping his shoulder into Shino's. Kakashi's has to keep them focused on keeping their guard up.

Then Shino suddenly yells out, "Above us!", Rinji and Kigiri are descending upon them as their guard is down, prepared to strike.

Before they can respond Sai and Fuu fly in and bat Rinji and Kigiri away while they're still in mid-air, Kigiri's neck snaps from Fuu's blackened arm slamming into his head, sending his corpse slamming into a nearby tree. Rinji was more fortunate, he was able to block Sai's tanto with a kunai and take cover behind a tree with the aid of the smoke screen. Though, once he sees that that Hinata is back in action, which explains how they got the jump on them and killed Kigiri, he decides to flee.

Naruto has made it to the center of the lake, having watched as Guren encased the Three Tails through the cover of the fog. If she wasn't his enemy, he'd be rather impressed with her ability and overall power, but she is his enemy, one that's using that boy to control the Three Tails. Which brings to mind, why does the Three Tails chakra feel so different from the other Bijuu he's sensed?

Looking closer at it, Naruto still senses that it's mostly made of nature chakra and wonders if it's just a unique aspect of the Three Tails. Then it hits him, he remembers Pervy Sage telling him how Bijuu are immortal beings that, even if you kill one, which only has happened by killing a jinchuuriki host, the Bijuu will reform at a random time and place, typically years later. He also knows that the Three Tails died with it's last host and hasn't been seen until now. Could it be? Do the Bijuu reform from nature chakra?! That'd explain why they are so strong, they're all made from nature chakra! But, why doesn't he sense this from the Nine Tails inside of him, or the Seven Tails inside Fuu? Perhaps, the Three Tails has only recently reformed and it's will hasn't fully taken effect, which alters the nature chakra they are made of, to create their unique chakra.

As Naruto is pondering the nature of the Bijuu, Gozu is lifting the boat upright onto the surface of the water with Guren and Kabuto, who's still holding Yukimaru, approach him. Kabuto proceeds to place Yukimaru's unconscious body into the boat, getting him to stir awake.

Naruto then sees the Three Tails eye look at him and start roaring, getting the crystal to start cracking and break apart as it thrashes free.

Guren's group is shocked to see that even her large jutsu couldn't hold it, getting Kabuto to frantically order, "Guren! Take Yukimaru and run! Gozu! You too!", Kabuto then pussies out and disappears into a cloud of smoke.

Guren move forward and take a protective stance while yelling out, "Gozu, protect Yukimaru!"

Gozu replies, "All right!", as a wave pushes the boat back and Guren leaps into the air.

As Yukimaru call out Gurens name with concern, Guren is making a hand-sign with her chakra spiraling around and yelling out, "You fight with me!" releasing thousands of crystal senbon to rain down on the Three Tails.

Guren then falls towards the Three Tails while creating a large blue crystal lance on her right arm, and is cocking her arm back to try and pierce through it's shell. Naruto is watching her, wondering why she'd be fighting the Three Tails. Just as Guren's lance is about to hit the Three Tails in the head, it roars out a massive amount of chakra, shattering her lance and knocking her back, getting Yukimaru to yell out for her again. Naruto turns his attention to Yukimaru, while now knowing the crystal users name, and wonders with shock if Guren is fighting a Bijuu to protect him. Getting Naruto to conclude that Yukimaru's place to return to is with Guren, especially with the way Yukimaru is smiling at him.

Guren in the meantime, is thrown back against the waters surface and cartwheels while forming a vertical crystal circle around her while yelling out, "Don't underestimate me, Muddy turtle!", then charges forward by spinning the ring to increase her momentum, but is apparently crushed by the Three Tails.

Yukimaru cries out, "Guren!", and proceeds to pull out the camellia she gave him, knowing that she's still alive as long as it's still encased in crystal.

"Gozu! What are you doing?! Take Yukimaru and get out of here!", a weaken and floating Guren shouts.

Gozu nods his head in understanding, getting Yukimaru to stand up and face Naruto to say, "I figured out where to return home to.", giving Naruto a full open mouth smile.

Turning to face the Three Tails, Yukimaru's face shifts to one of determination before releasing his power to control the Three Tails at will as it move towards them, getting it to stop in it's track. Naruto senses how Yukimaru's chakra is resonating with the Three Tails once being amplified by the crystal columns, confirming that he is controlling the Three Tails.

Unfortunately, the columns crack and start breaking apart, freeing the Three Tails as it sends out a massive tidal wave to completely shatter the crystals and sweep up everyone around it. Gozu and Naruto are sent spiraling away from the torrents caused by the Three Tails, though Naruto ends up dissipating into smoke, revealing it to be a shadow clone. The wave continues on to smash into the area where Kakashi and the others are at, removing the smoke screen and completely destroying the dock and nearby trees.

Guren is desperately swimming with all her might to reach Yukimaru, having noticed the dimensional rift caused by the reforming of Three Tails, knowing that if they are shucked into it, they will never return. Guren is thinking of all her moments with Yukimaru, from him being sick, to him giving her his mothers charm, he is the first person she has bonded with in a very long time and she desperately doesn't want to lose him. Reaching out to grab Yukimaru's outstretched hand, she's finally able grab him firmly and pour all her chakra in her jutsu, causing a massive crystal pillar to lift them out of the water with them holding on to each other in a loving embrace, like that of a mother and child.

Guren later wakes in the woods with Yukimaru holding her hand and smiling down at her, they're both still drenched in water with Yukimaru happily saying, "This time, I'll hold your hand", bringing a smile her face before she passes out again.

Back out on the lake, the Three Tails remerges from the water and starts releasing a mist from it's shell, mixing with the fog and spreading out to fill the entire area.

Naruto had received the memories of his shadow clone just as the tide wave hit him by the shore line, he was able keep himself from being washed away be gripping the ground with his chakra and the added guard of his mud wall jutsu, all of which were reinforced with senjutsu chakra. Naruto has exited Sage Mode as he processes what happened on the lake and how it's his fault that boy is now working with Orochimaru's lackeys, not noticing the fog around him thickening.

As Naruto moves forward to find Yukimaru, he suddenly finds himself standing in a shadowy realm with mixtures of light and dark, items of his life passing by him.

Looking around to try and figure out what's happening, he suddenly hears a very familiar voice mocking him, "Ha-ha-ah. You're pathetic! All your hard work and training won't change how they look at you! You can succeed on every mission, save all their lives, even delude yourself into believing that you've found love, but none of that will get the villagers to stop hating you!"

Images of his past appear around him, the hate filled stares, the times he'd cry himself to sleep as a boy, the unbearable loneliness of his childhood, and the faces of Fuu, Hinata, and Sakura shifting to ones filled with hatred and disgust for him.

Naruto yells out, "Shut up! This isn't real! I won't be tricked by genjutsu!"

The other voice replies, "Genjustu?! Ha! You're truly a fool! I'm not an illusion! I'm your true self!", revealing another Naruto with blackened eyes.

Naruto responds with shock and denial, "That's bullshit! You have to be an illusion, there's no other me!"

The dark Naruto replies, "Go ahead, keep fooling yourself, but you can't escape the truth."

Naruto yells back, "What truth?!"

Dark Naruto explains, "That I'm you. The real you, the one that doesn't hide behind a smile and pretend that everything is okay. I'm the one the Nine Tails likes."

Naruto is hit by the shocking revelation that this is the negative part of himself that the Nine Tails uses to take control of him!

Naruto's eyes narrow as a smile breaks across his face, getting him to say, "Then all I need to do is defeat you and then I can finally take control the Nine Tails chakra!", and proceeds to create thousands of clone in preparation to battle himself.

Dark Naruto just smirks while creating the exact same number of shadow clones as Naruto as he replies, "As if you could possibly beat me! I'm you, remember! I have all your jutsu, techniques, fighting style, everything!"

What follows it a quick battle between Naruto armies, using just about every jutsu in his arsenal, including his kenjutsu and recently acquired senjutsu. Just as Naruto is about to shove a rasengan in his dark self's face, he's snapped out of it, showing a battered Kiba instead of his dark self.

Kakashi yells out from behind Naruto, having stopped him from killing Kiba with his sharingan flaring, "That's enough, Naruto! Snap out of it!"

Naruto lets his rasengan dissipate while he looks around himself, seeing that all the nearby trees have been reduced to kindling, large caters here and there, deep slash marks littering the area, but most noticeably is that all his friends and teammates are battered, bruised, and bleeding.

Kiba yells out with rage, "Damn it Naruto! You nearly killed us! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Naruto stutters out in disbelief, "I-I didn't m-mean for- w-what's going on h-here? I thought I-I was fighting m-myself."

Kiba replies heatedly, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Kakashi interrupts, "Relax Kiba. It appears that Naruto was under some kind of illusion. This thick fog has already messed up Shino's insects and Fuu's communication abilities. I'm not surprised that it's also causing illusions."

Sakura and Hinata are healing Sai and Shino as Yamato walks forward while holding an open gash on his left shoulder, asking, "Senpai, what should we do?"

Kakashi answers, "We retreat back out of this fog, so we can share information and come up with a strategy on what to do next. We can't risk acting in this fog, plus, we need to finish treating everyone's wounds."

Naruto apologizes with remorse evident in his voice, "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Fuu interrupts him with a tight embrace while saying, "It's not your fault, Naruto-kun. You were under an illusion, you couldn't possibly have known you were attacking us.", she herself is covered in cuts and her clothes are practically shredded, but the cuts are miniscule due to her mastering the Earth Style: Iron Skin technique that Kakuzu often used.

Naruto returns her embrace and replies, "Alright. Let's go."

Meanwhile, with Yuikmaru sitting by the unconscious side of Guren, she is having a nightmare about how she killed a woman that nursed her back to health because Orochimaru ordered her to. Snapping awake and sitting up after killing the woman and turning a white camellia red with her blood, she wonders why she's remembering that. In fact, she's wondering why all these feelings that she thought she buried away, deep inside herself that day, are resurfacing.

"Guren.", a flushed Yukimaru says, happy to see Guren awake.

Guren is confused ask she replies, "Yukimaru?!", then she remembers that she was beaten by the Three Tails and was knocked unconscious, she wasn't expecting it to be that powerful.

Now she's worried about the Konoha-nin being on the move, and how she wants to find Rinji and the others, but with this dense fog it'd be to dangerous to move.

Guren then asks, "What happened to the Three Tails?"

Yukimaru answers, "I don't know. It just suddenly left. But I'm glad that you woke up. You were moaning the whole time. You couldn't wake up, no matter how many times I called out your name"

Guren is hit by the reality that he stayed by her side the whole time she was unconscious, getting her to smile while asking, "Now then, shall we go find the others?"

Yukimaru answers, "Yeah, but it's strange. I don't have any strength in my body.", placing a hand on his forehead as he starts burning up.

Guren notices this and states, with concern in her voice, "You have a fever again! Since when?"

Back with Naruto's group, that have already moved out of the fog, having had Sai and Hinata confirm that the fog is coming from the Three Tails, acting as a barrier to protect it's self. Naruto had even informed them of everything that happened at the lake with the Three Tails, including his theory on why he didn't sense it earlier. Naruto wanted to go and rescue the boy that's still inside the fog, but relented when Kakashi reminded him that he nearly killed his own comrades because of that fog. So for now, they're going to stay away from the lake and the fog surrounding it.

Kiba asks, "What are we suppose to do now?"

Kakashi answers, "We've gone a far ways off from simply capturing Kabuto and now with the Three Tails involvement, I can't just arbitrarily make decisions about what to do. So, I want you all to stay out of the fog while maintaining a watch on both the lake and the enemies movements. While Naruto has a shadow clone Hirashin's me back to Konoha to inform Lady Hokage and receive orders from her on how to proceed."

Naruto ask, "Why one of my shadow clones and not me?"

Kakashi answers, "Because, you're our only sensory type shinobi, and with the added boost from your Sage Mode, you'll be able to best keep tabs on what's happening at the lake while safely maintaining your distance."

Naruto proceeds to make a shadow clone that then Hirashin's Kakashi to Tsunade's office, they had the fortunate luck that she was alone and happy to put her paperwork to the side. Once properly greeting Tsunade and apologizing for interrupting, Kakashi fills Tsunade in on what's been happing on the mission and the current state of things.

Tsunade fold her hands in front of her face as she takes a moment to think, before responding, "This may work in our favor. The Akatsuki have been gathering up Bijuu rapidly, and even though we still don't know exactly why, we can safely assume that whatever they're doing with them is going to be catastrophic for the world. So, we now have the chance to keep the Three Tails out of there hands by sealing it away, but I'm not exactly sure on how we can do that."

Naruto's clone offers, "I can handle it. I've recently mastered one of my clan's more powerful sealing jutsu. All I need to know is what way you want me to seal it up, like using a scroll or a special jar. I can even seal the Three Tails into the nearby landscape, like the lake, or a mountain."

Tsunade asks with trepidation, "What about sealing it into another person and creating a new jinchuuriki?"

Naruto wants to yell out his disgust with that idea, but knows that Tsunade is the Hokage and they are in an official meeting, so replies after calming himself, "I could do that, but I don't really like the idea of burdening someone with that fate. So, respectfully, I wouldn't do it unless that someone volunteered to be a jinchuuriki."

Tsunade is taken back by Naruto, yet again he shows restraint when she expected him to throw a fit, getting her to respond, "Look, Naruto, sometimes for the greater good we have to do some unsavory things, like creating another jinchuuriki, but, I'm willing to compromise. So, I'll allow you to seal the Three Tails in an object or scroll that you can then bring back to Konoha, but, if I'm able to find someone who is willing to become it's host, then you have to agree to seal it inside of that person, deal?"

Naruto yields, "Fine, but that still doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Tsunade replies, "Then it's a deal. Now, Kakashi, head back and shift your focus in aiding Naruto into sealing the Three Tails. Kabuto is a secondary concern, but if the opportunity to either capture or kill him arises, then don't hesitate to do so."

Kakashi responds, "Yes Milady."

Tsunade then asks, "Do you think that you'll need anymore help in achieving this mission?"

Kakashi thinks about for a moment, before replying, "No. With the enemies numbers already cut down to a four-man cell, and that they have to protect this boy that can control the Three Tails, we easily have enough man power to get it done."

Tsunade nods her head and responds, "Alright, and while you brought it up, do try and bring back the boy as well. I'd love to be able to analyze his ability, and who knows, he might be able to help Naruto and Fuu in controlling their Bijuu. You can go now.", Naruto's clone then proceeds to Hirashin them back and dissipate to inform Naruto of what happened.

With Guren, who is now watching over the sickened Yukimaru, she is thinking about how this the second time she's taken care of him and how it might be because of those pills Kabuto gave him. She's also thinking about how she can't risk getting into another battle with the enemy while she has him, so she'll have to lay low for now.

Yukimaru then starts coughing, getting Guren to take him into her arms while saying, "Hey, Yukimaru. Wake up."

Yukimaru slowly opens eyes to say weakly, "You know. The place I can return to, is by you. I finally, found it.", before slipping back into unconsciousness and surprising Guren.

Meanwhile, Naruto is sitting in his meditative position on a small cliff over looking the lake, focusing on gathering nature chakra when he needs to and keeping tabs on the enemy. He knows where the Crystal user, Guren, and the boy are right now, and wants to go save the child at this very moment, but he's hesitating, due to having nearly killed the people most precious to him. Then there is the whole essence of the illusion he experienced, it felt like he was actually talking to the darkest recesses of his soul, the things he tries to burry away. Can it really just be a coincidence, or was it really what's inside him? Maybe, just maybe, that mist can help him over come the negative emotions that are buried away, deep inside himself and finally master his own hatred.

Naruto is snapped out of his thoughts by Sakura walking up to him and asking, "Hey, Naruto. Is this a good time to talk?", uncertainty clearly visible in Sakura's demeanor.

Naruto replies, "Yeah, I can spare a few minutes. Things are relatively quiet for the moment. What's on your mind Sakura?", causing Sakura to flinch, secretly missing the honorific he use to use for her.

Sakura strengthens her resolve and moves to sit down next to Naruto, with her knees held to her chest, she answers by laying out everything that happened between her and Sasuke.

Sakura ends, "And that's how it is. I can't be in a relationship like that! I've always known that Sasuke might not have any feelings for me, at least in that way, but to just rationalize it away like that! It, it hurt worse than if he simply would have just turned me down and said he didn't like me.", tears welling back up as she let's out a small sob.

Naruto, without even thinking about it, pulls Sakura into hug and whispers soothingly to her, "It's okay Sakura-chan. Let it out. There's no shame in crying when your hearts been broken. If you ask me, it's Sasuke-teme's loss. You're a beautiful, smart, strong, and kind woman that any man would be happy to love. I know it's a cliché, but, there are plenty of other fish in sea, and I KNOW you'll find the one that will love you the way you deserve. So, cheer up. It may hurt now, but trust me when I say that things will get better, Sakura-chan.", Sakura's grip on Naruto tightens a bit before she pulls back to look him in the eyes.

Sakura gazes into Naruto's eyes with a smile, overjoyed at him using the honorific chan with her name again. Seeing only love in them, she moves in close to him and seals her lips to his, trying to desperately put all the past angst, confusion, and love for him she's had all this time into it.

Naruto is taken back by Sakura suddenly kissing him, not knowing what to do, he just goes with his instincts and kisses her back. He can feel the passion, the love, confusion and some angst in her kiss, but he can also feel them bleeding away the longer the kiss goes on, leaving only the love and passion behind.

As they separate, Naruto utters out, "S-Sakura-chan. W-why are you- What? I t-thought you s-said?", a dumbfounded look plastered across his face.

Sakura giggles at his reaction, before affectionately rubbing his left cheek with her right hand and replying, "Isn't it obvious? I love you, Naruto."

Naruto responds with a huge grin on his face, but quickly says, "But you said that you didn't want to be apart of a harem. I don't want you to get your hopes up, because I still love Fuu and Hinata-chan, and I'm not going to leave them!"

Sakura lowers her face, so that it's hidden from Naruto's view while asking, "Do you still love me too?"

Naruto answers immediately, "Of course I do! I've never stopped loving you! I just wanted to let you go so that you could find your own happiness, even if it's with someone else."

Sakura keeps her face hidden as she continues to asks, "Will you love me, or any of the others, less or more than another?"

Naruto doesn't hesitate to answer, "Never! I know that I'm being selfish and even unrealistic, but I've chosen to love all of you with everything I have! I didn't start this whole clan restoration thing to revive my clan, or sleep around with as many women as I want. I only did it because I can't see myself loving you, Fuu, or Hinata more than the other. So I'm using an old law and my bloodline to love all of you equally! And if I have to have more wives or lovers, or whatever word they want to use, to do it, I will! But only with women that I can love just as much as I do you, Sakura-chan, otherwise I'll just dig in my heels and refuse to budge on adding anyone else! No matter the consequences!"

Sakura lifts her head up, revealing a loving smile and responds, "Alright then. I'll give this a try, but if you fail to keep your word to always love me equally, and with all your heart, then I'm gone. Understand?"

Naruto replies, "Perfectly. I give you a promise of a lifetime to always love you with all my heart! After all, there's no other way I can love you, Fuu, and Hinata-chan!", sealing his promise with a kiss.

Sakura ends up getting Naruto onto his back and starts grinding into him, getting him harder and hotter by the second. Just as it seems like it's going to get good, Sakura pulls back and stands up to leave.

Naruto looks at her with a confused and frustrated expression, getting her to reply, "What? Did you honestly think I was going to give you my virginity out here in the open! Plus, I'm still reeling over Sasuke's actions, and even though they disgust me, I know there is still apart of me that still loves him. I need to take this slow with you, so as to make sure that I've fully moved on from Sasuke. It'd be wrong of me to try and use you to get past Sasuke to only find I can't. But, once we get back to the village, I don't see why you can't take me out on a date and see how things go, Ok?", giving him a smile before she goes.

Naruto falls flat on his back with a massive grin on his face, saying to himself, "It's a date.", before jumping up and leaping off the cliff to go save Yukimaru. He doesn't see why not, after all, his luck couldn't be any better at the moment.

Naruto is headed for Yukimaru, but stops as he senses Guren laying in wait, and says, "I think it'd be best if we got this over with before the boy gets here, Guren, was it?"

Guren hops down from the tree she was waiting in and replies, "You're a sharp one. You must be a sensory type to have picked up on my location with such ease. Not to mention that you ran straight here without changing direction, so you must have already known where I was. So you came here all on your own to kill me. That's very brave, but exceptionally stupid!"

Naruto looks at Guren as she blurs through some hand-signs to create her jade crystal blade along her right forearm, calmly replying, "I didn't come here to kill you. I'm just here to rescue the boy that's with you. Just hand over the child and I'll leave you be."

Guren responds while charging him, "I'll never hand him over to you!"

Naruto easily dodges all of the swings of her blade and rapid kicks that follow them, asking, "Why not?! Oh, right! He's your little lab rat that you're using to take control of the Three Tails! You don't care about him at all!"

Guren lands a blade strike on Naruto's left forearm while replying heatedly, "Shut up! It's none of your business, and Yukimaru is on our side willingly, so stop acting like he needs you to rescue him!", unfortunately for her, her crystal blade shattered after making contact with Naruto's arm.

Naruto responds to Guren's shocked expression by hitting her with a palm strike to her torso, knocking her back into a tree that splinters apart on contact.

Walking towards her, Naruto responds, "The only reason he's with you is because if what I told him. I never thought that the consequences of them would be for him to join your side."

Guren is holding her bruised ribs, looking up at the stunning sight of Naruto's intimidating stature. That awestruck feeling she got the first time she saw him, similar to the one she got from Orochimaru, is flooding her body again. She knows that despite the damage she's received from just one blow is nothing to what he could have done to her. His power far surpasses her own, which is why she's so enticed by it, knowing that he could have killed her just then sends a chill up her spine, yet somehow she also finds herself aroused. What's more is that unlike Orochimaru, Naruto gives off this sense of warmth that seems to envelope you, letting you know that there is no better place to be, but at his side.

Yukimaru suddenly says, "Thank you. You taught me, didn't you?", getting Naruto and Guren to look to the side, seeing Yukimaru there.

Guren replies in shocked surprise, but with a hint of relief at him being better, "Yukimaru?!"

Yukimaru continues, "Wherever someone thinks of you is the place you go home to.", he starts moving towards them.

Guren orders out with concern for his safety, "Don't move any closer!"

Yukimaru just continues on, "I'm really grateful to you. I finally found the place where I can go back to. Right Guren?"

Naruto blurs in front of Yukimaru, putting up a defensive posture while saying, "So your name is Yukimaru? I'm Naruto. You're going home with me to Konoha."

Yukimaru asks, "Why?"

Naruto answers as Guren painfully lifts herself off the ground, "She's not the one you're going home to! She's a servant of Orochimaru and is working for Kabuto. And they're the type of people that'll do anything to achieve their ambitions. They're bastards who thinks nothing of taking people's lives. Anyone who'd serve guys like that can't be a decent human being!"

Yukimaru responds with the utmost confidence, "Guren will protect me. She's kind to me and she thinks of me."

Naruto replies, "It's obvious she's just using you!"

Guren yells out, "Shut up! Yukimaru won't return to your place! His place to return to is me! I'll protect him with my life! So just stay out of things that have nothing to do with you!", hoping he'll just leave, knowing that he's in the same class as Orochimaru and that she doesn't stand a chance against him.

Naruto focuses his gaze on Guren, analyzing her chakra to see if she's lying, but shockingly finds that she's being completely honest with him. What's more, is that he can feel actual concern for Yukimaru coming from her, but it's confused and uncertain, like she's never felt such things before. Naruto is also sensing the movement of one her comrades that's tunneling towards him from underground.

Naruto decides to ask, "Guren, if Orochimaru himself showed up here and demanded that you kill Yukimaru this very instant, would you?", knowing that'd never happen because he's dead, but that doesn't take away the seriousness of the question.

Guern is taken back by the question, knowing that she's done that exact same thing before, and tries to deflect by asking, "W-what are you talking about?! Why does this concern you anyways?!"

The ground in front of Naruto explodes as Gozu comes out throwing a punch at Naruto, which he easily catches with his left hand, getting Gozu to utter out in shocked fear, "I-Impossible!", before Naruto slams his right fist into Gozu's face, knocking him unconscious.

Naruto then tosses his unconscious body to the side while stating in a deadly serious tone, "I don't want to kill anyone in front of Yukimaru, so answer my question truthfully. Otherwise, I'll have to kill the both of you and take Yukimaru with me by force."

Guren is desperately wondering what to do, she can't beat Naruto and she's not completely sure if she'd kill Yukimaru if Lord Orochimaru ordered her to. Then she suddenly grabs the side of her head in pain as the memories of all the time she's spent with Yukimaru speeds through her mind, stopping on the time she found him playing a song with a leaf blade. That's when it hits her, the memory of killing that woman that healed her wounds and saved her life. She was playing that exact same song with a leaf's blade when she first woke up! Thinking on it now, there's a striking similarity in appearance between her and Yukimaru. Could she have killed his mother?!

Yukimaru calls out in worry, "Guren! Are you okay?", seeing tears welling up in her eyes.

Guren looks at Yukimaru as the old feelings she kept buried away resurface in full force, just as she comes to the realization that she killed his mother. Making her the one responsible for his loneliness and all the pain he's gone through, getting her to lower her head as tears start to fall from her eyes while saying, "I-I'm fine. I-if Lord, no, if that snake Orochimaru wants Yukimaru's life, then he'll have to get through me first! It's the least I can do after what I've done to him.", her eyes filled with determination as she looks up at Naruto.

Naruto felt it, the sudden influx of emotions flooding Guren entire being, the love and joy, then a startling revelation, followed by a massive swell of pain and regret, and ending with determination. She means what she just said, but the part that's concerning him the most, is what she's done to Yukimaru.

Out of the darkness of the forest come a chilling laughter as Rinji walks out, saying, "Well now, I never would have thought that Orochimaru's most loyal subordinate would be willing to turn on him over some little boy. My, how the mighty have fallen."

Guren snaps out, "Shut up Rinji! Do you plan on killing me here and taking my place at Orochimaru's side?!"

Rinji moves towards Guren with his hands up while answering, "No. Why would I, one of his disposable test subjects, want to do that? I have no love for the man, I only followed orders to keep myself alive. If you're turning on him, then I'm going to take this chance to help you escape, so that I can also escape with my life intact. After all, all the others are dead, Gozu's out cold, and Kabuto's gone, so why not leave while I can?"

Naruto feels something off about Rinji, his chakra feels similar to Kabuto's, but also like Orochimaru is mixed with it. Plus, despite what he just said, he doesn't seemed worried in the least.

Guren lowers her guard to ask, "So Kigiri is dead and you don't know where Kabuto is?"

Rinji moves to her right side to whisper into her ear, "Actually, I know exactly where Kabuto is.", stabbing Guren in her side with a kunai.

Guren responds in shocked pain, "Y-you're n-not! What a-are you d-doing?", grabbing her side as he removes the kunai.

Yukimaru yells out, "Guren!", moving to run to her side, only to be pulled back by Naruto.

Gozu had regained consciousness in time to see Rinji stab Guren, setting him off into a rage, getting him to charge Rinji and smash into him with his enlarged fist, sending Rinji crashing into the lake. Gozu follows the careening Rinji, landing on top of the lake as Rinji pulls himself back on top of it with his face peeling off.

Gozu yells out, "Why?! Why did you do that to Guren, Rinji?!"

Rinji's laughs as her tears off the rest of the face, revealing Kabuto's twisted and deformed face, while explaining, "Well, I'm actually not Rinji for starters, he apparently was a spy for Orochimaru, so I killed him and took his place. You see, Orochimaru is dead and I'm set to be his replacement, but Rinji didn't like that idea, so he just had to go. As for Guren, well, we never really got along in the first place, so I highly doubt her reaction would have been any better than Rinji's. Besides, the test run proved that Yukimaru can control the Three Tails, so all I need now is his D.N.A and a sample of his chakra. Then by adding his blood and chakra to my ever changing body, I'll have that ability as well, so Guren's no longer needed, as are you!"

Kabuto then proceeds to blur through hand-signs and summons two coffins from the lake, or so it seems anyways. The coffins open to reveal two figures with cracked pale skin and black eyes, one is very tall while other is rather small, like a kid in his early teens.

Gozu is looking at them in fear as he utters out, "W-what are t-those?", as the fog around them grows denser from the tall one making a hand-sign with one of his hands raised above his head.

Meanwhile, Naruto is standing over a wounded Guren as Yukimaru is kneeling at her side, his eyes locked on the white camellia on her dress turning red from her blood. Naruto is lost in thought as he senses two new chakra signatures that came out of no where, most likely a summons, but the strange part is that he some how feels like he knows them. He then proceeds to make a shadow clone that runs off to see what's happening.

Naruto is snapped out of his thoughts as Yukimaru starts screaming and releasing a lot of chakra from his body, just like when he was controlling the Three Tails, getting Naruto to yell out, "Stop it Yukimaru! Guren will be fine, so stop before you cause the Three Tails to attack you again!"

Yukimaru is unable to listen as he keeps thinking about how her found his murdered mother with her blood soaking the camellia flowers around her. He can't bare to lose Guren too, after going on for so long with no place to call home, and to finally find a place with Guren, the thought of losing her now is too much for him.

Naruto curses as a massive water bullet slams into the nearby shoreline, dousing them in water. The Three Tails can feel Yukimaru's power trying to control it, so it's trying to kill him before he does. Naruto charges toward the Three Tails on the lake, ignoring that one of the chakra signatures on the lake by Kabuto just vanished, and that his clone was taken out before seeing what happened, focusing on how he's going to stop a Bijuu.

Guren recognizes the danger Yukimaru is in, so she grits her teeth and stands up to pull Yukimaru into an embrace, getting him to stop his tantrum while she says to him soothingly, "It's alright Yukimaru. I'm not leaving you, so relax, just listen to my voice and calm yourself."

Yukimaru looks up a Guren's smiling face and asks, "Are you really okay? You're not going to leave me all alone, are you?"

Guren replies, "I'm fine and I'm staying right here with you. I promise.", only for another shot come firing at them from the Three Tails.

Just as it's about to hit them, "Gale Palm!", Naruto intercepts it with his wind jutsu, causing it to explode into water vapor.

Guren grabs Yukimaru and moves him farther away from the lake, then performs, "Fructify! Crystal Style: Crimson Fruit!", surrounding Yukimaru in a dome of hardened crystal, while saying, "That should protect you, it's very strong, so don't worry. I'll chase away that over sized turtle, then we'll go, okay?"

Yukimaru reluctantly nods his head and says, "Okay Guren. But you promise to come back for me, right?"

Guren replies, "Of course!", then jumps away to confront the Three Tails.

Naruto dodges another one of the Three Tails water attacks and launches his rasenshuriken at it's face, but the damn turtle rolls up into a ball and spins away to avoid being hit, yet again! He's used two rasenshuriken, a massive gale palm attack, plus his little skirmish with Guren earlier, and he's now down to about two minutes before his Sage Mode ends. The Three Tails is charging up another water bullet attack just as a massive crystal column slams into it's eye, getting it to stop it's attack to thrash around in pain.

Guren's running across the water while blurring through hand-signs, "Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Dragon Wild Dance!", unleashing a barrage of crystal dragons at the Three Tails.

As the crystal dragons shatter upon impact with the Three Tails, Naruto takes the opportunity to fire off one last rasenshuriken, ending his Sage Mode, but this time his jutsu hits it's mark. The Three Tails roars out as it's bombarded by Naruto's justu, consuming it in a massive ball of destruction, and sending wind currents outward. Guren ends up getting knocked down from the shockwave of Naruto's jutsu, grabbing her now profusely bleeding wound. Naruto move over towards her to help her up, having sensed the Three Tails dive down in retreat, so he saw his opportunity to fall back to safety.

Naruto comments, "You were going strong there for a moment, but by ignoring that wound to enter a fight may have made it a lot worse. If you don't get it treated soon you'll bleed to death.", while reaching down to pick her up.

Guren slaps his hand away while replying, "I don't need your sympathy! I can take care of myself!"

Before Naruto can respond to her reaction the Three Tails bursts out of the water from beneath them with it's mouth wide open in an attempt to eat them. Naruto can easily Hirashin away, but Guren's already inside it's mouth, so he let's himself fall into it's mouth to grab her, but get washed down as he's hit with a stream of water from behind, getting swallowed along with Guren.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By FallenDispair

Chapter: 11

I DON'T OWN NARUTO.

**Edited 9/16/19**

**Authors Notes: Ok, I want to apologize for the late update, but for an entire week I had horrible writers block. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get words to flow out of my head. It wasn't until I completed Witcher 3's Blood and Wine DLC that I finally was able to write again, so for now on I'm going to be gaming or binging a show, or something instead of constant writing. I think I got a little burnt out. Unfortunately, that means that the updates will take longer for each chapter, but I have no intention on dropping this story. I can't stand not finishing things once I start them, so even if it gets a little slow, I'll make sure to finish this story. Oh, I also want to think Time Parad0x in helping me with this story through solid reviews and letting me bounce a few ideas off of him or her, doesn't really matter anyways what gender someone is. Thanks for the continued support!**

Naruto awakens from a water drop landing on his face, finding himself inside the stomach of the Three Tails. Naruto tries to get his bearings by sensing what's around him, but it only worries him as he comes to the realization that he can't sense anything outside the Three Tails body, and what he can sense is dulled for some reason. Naruto places his hand on the lining of the Three Tails stomach in hope of understanding why he can't sense past it. Through the feel of it, he can tell that is a solid as steel and with the added spiky protrusions, it'd be ill advised to try and smash his way out. Naruto then decides to enter Sage Mode, to see if it's boosting power can help him sense outside of the Three Tails. Unfortunately, that doesn't help, but it does give him a working theory on why he can't. The entirety of the Three Tails is composed of nature chakra, one that's closed off to the rest of the world, as it's changing into a more distinct chakra signature.

With that figured out, as far as he's concerned, Naruto heads off towards Guren's chakra signature. He hopes that once he finds her, he can get the answers he wants from her before Hirashining them out of the Three Tails stomach.

As Naruto turns a corner, he spots Guren as she spots him, she responds by throwing a crystal shuriken at him, which he easily deflects with a kunai.

Naruto prepares to return fire, but stops as he notices that blood is still pouring down her left side as Guren yells out, "I won't let you have Yukimaru! Die!", before passing out from blood loss.

Naruto relaxes his guard as he can sense that she's really unconscious, sheathing his kunai and moving to treat her wound before she bleeds to death.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Yukimaru is fortunately found by Kakashi and Yamato that had been chasing down Naruto. Not wanting to risk getting caught in the ever thickening fog, they retreated back to the others with the unconscious Yukimaru, not noticing the snake-like eyes watching them in the shadows.

After getting back to their respective teams, Kakashi has Sakura and Hinata give Yukimaru a full check-up. He's hoping that they can ascertain how Yukimaru can control the Three Tails, or at the very least, acquire blood and chakra samples to be sent back to Lady Tsunade.

Back with Naruto and Guren, Guren is regaining consciousness, opening her eyes to Naruto's visage. Being shocked by this, Guren instinctively flips backwards off the ground and creates a crystal shuriken to defend herself, but ends up buckling under her own weight. Looking down at her wound, she finds it to be bandaged up and properly treated.

Looking at Naruto, Guren asks incredulously, "Did you treat it? What's the big deal? What are you scheming?!"

Naruto, who's still on his hunches, turns his head away from her while answering, "Nothing."

Guren replies heatedly, "Don't lie! Your enemy lies unconscious! Why would you, a shinobi, pass up the chance to kill me!"

Naruto responds with a little heat in his voice, "I wouldn't do a shameful thing like hurting someone who's unable to fight!"

Guren seems taken back such a statement, but decides to move on by asking, "Where's Yukimaru?!", while picking herself up from the ground.

Naruto answers, "He's not in here, I think that we were the only two that the Three Tails swallowed. He's still in the forest along the lakes edge, so either my teammates that I sensed approaching us has him, or Kabuto does."

Guren counters, "Gozu could have him!"

Naruto shakes his head and explains, "I'm afraid that he's dead. Before we engaged the Three Tails, I sensed his chakra signature disappear after Kabuto summoned two new individuals to aid him. I'm still not exactly sure what he did, or who he summoned, but they're both stronger than that Gozu guy."

Guren feels a bit of remorse over Gozu's death, but she refocuses on Yukimaru by replying, "Then I have to get out of here immediately and find out. So it's imperative that we fight. I'm going to defeat you and get out of here. You won't leave here unless you can defeat me."

Naruto responds, "That's true, I was thinking something similar. But I think that we should work together to get out of here, then we can go back to fighting each other.", while standing up and facing her.

Guren asks, "Why would I ever do that?!"

Naruto answers, "Simple. These things all around us seem to be planning on digesting us, so I'd say we have bigger problems on our hands."

Looking around her, Guren sees a sea of miniature Three Tails moving towards them. The both of them are forced to jump out of the way as a wave of them come crashing down on there position. Naruto starts to flee from their advancing forms, but stops a he sees Guren once again on the ground, holding her wound. He quickly moves over towards her and picks her up bridal style and jumps away as the see of Three Tails comes surging in.

Guren elbows Naruto in the face as he land on a wall while yelling out in embarrassment, "W-what the hell do think you're doing?! Get your hands off me! I can run away on my own.", a light blush on her face.

Naruto just sighs in exasperation and follows after the fleeing form of Guren as the Three Tails miniatures continue to chase them down. It takes several minutes of running before they can give them the slip, allowing Naruto to form a four wall barrier around the little area they are tucked away in.

As Naruto walks in front of Guren to check on her, she asks, "Why? Why are you trying to help me?"

Naruto explains, "I don't fight an injured enemy-"

Guren interrupts, "You could have left me for those Three Tail things back there!"

Naruto responds with a sickened look on his face, "That would have been disgusting to watch!"

Guren lowers her head as she replies, "You're naïve. Had it been me, you'd be dead by now and I'd leave this place to look for Yukimaru."

Naruto responds, "What, so you can keep using him for Orochimaru's sake?!", heated determination in his eyes.

Guren fires back, "No! I-I won't- I. What about you?! Now that you Konoha shinobi know about Yukimaru's abilities, you'll use him too. After all, taking the Three Tails means that Konoha will be in possession of enormous power!"

Naruto replies without blinking an eye, "We don't need such a thing!"

Guren responds, "Liar! Konoha already has the Nine Tails as well as the jinchuuriki! People like you with that kind of power have no right to criticize Lord Orochimaru, or us!"

Naruto fires back, "And I'm that jinchuuriki!"

Bringing a look of pure shock to Guren's face as she utters out in equal shock, "Wha?!", before lowering her head in shame and understanding.

Naruto lowers his tone to one that conveys seriousness while grabbing hold of his stomach with his right and continuing, "But I don't use this power. The Nine Tails has incredible power that I can't control with my own strength yet. I've hurt my comrades before I even realized it happened. That's why I don't use it's power. If I hadn't told Yukimaru such a thing..."

Guren looks up at him and asks, "You're the one that told him?"

Naruto continues with a little heated added in, "But no matter how much someone thinks of him, if you're going to use Yukimaru for Orochimaru's sake to make him control the Three Tails, that's not right! I don't want Yukimaru to get near a Bijuu. If he becomes like me...", sorrow crossing his face.

Guren's facing the ground on all fours, replying, "No! I won't let Yukimaru do such a thing."

Naruto's face becomes hardened as he responds, "I don't believe you."

Guren replies with sorrow and regret in her voice, "He needs a place to return to. When his mother died, Yukimaru lost the place to return to, so I'm taking her place!"

Naruto yells out with heat, "You're a follower of Orochimaru! I can't allow Yukimaru to return to you! I'll tell him that you're just using him for your master and that you're not his place to return to!", while pointing accusingly at her.

Guren sits up as she yells back, "Then that's fine! But for me that boy, Yukimaru is, the place for me to return to! But he's better off with you than with a monster like me.", lowering her head in mixed shame and despair.

Naruto crosses his arms as he asks in a firm tone, "What did you do to warrant calling yourself a monster? Does it have to with that terrible thing you did to Yukimaru?"

Guren nods her head and then explain with a sad expression, "I'm the one who killed Yukimaru's mother."

A shocked expression crosses Naruto's face as he asks, "What did you just say?", not sure he heard her right.

Guren continues, "At the time, Lord Orochimaru was trying to build Oto. I attacked Yukimaru's village on his orders, but I collapsed there after exhausting my powers. That woman, his mother, saved my life, even though I was her enemy. But, I-I.," stopping as tears stream down her face before continuing, "Out of my desire to be accepted by Lord Orochimaru, I killed her! I sealed away the memories and emotions of that moment, but when I met Yukimaru, they all came back to me."

Naruto asks, "Is that why you protect Yukimaru?"

Guren replies, "I hurt Yukimaru's soul in a way that I can never make amends for. I have no right to protect him. It's over for me! Just leave me here where I belong! Please, just look after Yukimaru."

Naruto smiles as he hears what he wanted to from her, now knowing that she truly cares for Yukimaru, he can leave him in her care. Naruto hated the idea of forcefully separating Yukimaru from the one person he's come to find precious to him. By hearing Guren confess her sins and revealing her true self, not to mention that she's willing to let him go for his own good, she's proved herself worthy of taking Yukimaru's mothers place.

Naruto responds, "That's weird to hear from you. Whatever happened in the past, you're different now! So I'm not going to let you die in a place like this! You have to return to Yukimaru so he can keep having a place to call home!"

Guren replies, "Maybe I'm different now, but will he forgive me? When Yukimaru finds out that I'm the one who killed his mother?", tears once again are streaming down her face.

Naruto answers, "He may not forgive you, but if I were you, I'd keep thinking of him! Even if I'm despised, or rejected, or hated! Whether he thinks that I'm the place to return to or not has nothing to do with it! I'd keep on thinking about him. As long he has a place to go home to, then he can find happiness in this world, and that's all that really matters. Sometimes we have to give up on our own happiness to ensure another's, and if you truly care about Yukimaru like I think you do, then you'll gladly do it."

Guren takes a moment to let Naruto's words sink in, before she's forced to ask, "But what kind of life could I give him while on the run from Lor-, I mean Orochimaru? He'd never let us go! We'd have to be on guard all the time while being constantly on the move. How-"

Naruto interrupts Guren by laughing out loud, getting her face to turn red as she yells out in fury, "What's so funny about that?! I'm being serious about the threat Orochimaru poses to our existence!"

Naruto holds his hands up to pacify Guren while explaining, "Whoa! Sorry, it's just that you don't need to worry about him. Kabuto has been lying to you this whole time. Orochimaru is dead! Has been for like three weeks!"

Guren replies in complete shock and disbelief, "What?! That can't be! He's! HE'S! How can you be so sure?! Huh?!"

Naruto answers, "Because I'm the one that loped off his head as Sasuke held him still with a chidori to his mid-section. We currently have his dead body laying in a morgue back in Konoha, and Tsunade herself went over every inch of his body to confirm his death. Hell! We had Kabuto as our prisoner until a little over a week ago, until he escaped our custody. Why did you think we were here in the first place? We're trying to recapture him."

Guren is taken back as a swell of mixed emotions go through her. Shock at Orochimaru's death at Naruto's hand, which somehow makes him seem even sexier to her. Then relief at not having to be on the run from him, to finally being pissed off at that little shit Kabuto for using her!

Guren then yells out in anger, "Why the hell didn't you tell me that sooner?!"

Naruto explains, "Well, you were my enemy, and you didn't really leave me that many chances to tell you. But, honestly, I wanted to make sure that you'd put Yukimaru's safety above all else, even Orochimaru's wishes. So, yes, I lied to you about him being alive, but now I know for sure that you really care for Yukimaru and I can entrust him to you."

Guren lets out a sigh of frustration and then replies, "Fine. I guess I can see your point. But that still doesn't take away from how I don't deserve to be forgiven, and that Yukimaru would still be better off without me.", Guren's face becoming solemn.

Naruto tries to change her mind by saying, "Hey! Come on now! I already told you that you're a different person now and-"

Guren interrupts with pained fury, "And what?! All the innocent blood I've split in Orochimaru's name just disappears?! All the horrible and unforgivable things I've done out of pure cruelty are just forgiven and forgotten?! Grow up! Filth like myself deserves to die a horrible death, like being eaten alive by those Three Tails creatures! I-if someone as dirty as me gets near anyone as pure as Yukimaru or yourself, then they'd just become covered in it like me. I don't want, nor do I deserve to be happy at the expense of Yuikmaru's light, the same light you seem to carry within you. So he's better off just forgetting about me and go living on with you in Konoha.", tears forming in her eyes as she lowers her head.

Naruto looks at Guren, feeling her honest feelings of self disgust and how she seems to be falling deeper into that dark pit.

So places his right index finger and thumb under her chin to lift her head up, making her look him in the eyes as he tells her with warmth and compassion, "Yes, you've done horrible, unforgivable things in the past, probably even not that long ago, but I know you've changed, I've sensed it. The truly evil don't have remorse for the things they've done, and they certainly wouldn't be crying from those atrocities. You're a complicated, yet truly amazing person who has found their lost heart, so stop attacking yourself. Yukimaru needs you, not me, you're his precious person that gives him a reason to exist. I know you know that is the most important thing in the world to someone who grew up without people who recognized your existence. You are dirty, but it's not what you're made of. When you embraced Yukimaru, freeing the heart you locked away, it rubbed that filth off, revealing the good inside of you, and that's who you really are."

Guren's face was heating up, along with the rest of her body, as her heart started to race from the gentle touch of Naruto's hands and the passionate words flowing from his mouth. Unlike the times she's been awe-struck by Orochimaru, Naruto feels far more genuine and sincere. She can actually feel the warmth and light of his being pour into her body and consume her very being, cleansing the core of her soul of the darkness that had taken root, and that Yukimaru had weakened. Getting a good look at Naruto and remembering the power he has welded, her panties moisten and she moves forward, clearing the distance between them to lock her lips to his.

Naruto hesitates for a moment, but feeling her desire and desperate need, he quickly gives in. The soft moans of Guren's pleasure filled body are meet with the gentle and slow sound of slapping flesh. This isn't lust filled sex that focuses on relieving their physical needs, no, this is one person who's desperately clinging to another to feel alive and wanted, with the other giving her exactly what see needs. It's slow, yet passionate, with the added care of not agitating Guren's injury. This type of sex is all about connecting with one another and excepting each other's hearts, not knowing how it'll end, but simply enjoying the warmth and love they are feeling in this very moment.

Meanwhile, outside with the rest of the Konoha-nin inside Yamato's wood style house, Sakura and Hinata have finished healing the unconscious Yukimaru, and were only able to ascertain that whatever it is that allows him to control the Three Tails, it is damaging his chakra network. The damage is minimal for the moment and can be mended with time, but it's imperative that he refrains from using that ability of his and stops taking the strange drug Sakura was able to extract from his blood.

Kakashi then orders, "Alright, I'll have Pakkun send the samples you took from the boy to the Hokage for analysis. In the mean time, I want Hinata and Sai to go on out and do some aerial reconnaissance to find Naruto."

Before they can respond, Shino interrupts, "We have a problem. The fog has surrounded the house and my beetles are detecting two new chakra signatures. They're both powerful and give off a frightening chill, but one of them was somehow able to cut me off from some of my beetles."

Kiba asks, "Is it like that time with the crystal user? I thought you have beetles that are immune to the crystal style?"

Shino answers, "Yes, it's very similar, but different at the same time. The last sensations that they had were that of extreme cold, before losing contact."

Kakashi moves outside and lifts up his forehead protector, revealing his sharingan, and looks at the mist rolling in. Kakashi is taken back by what he sees, the chakra mixed into the mist is very familiar to him, getting him to utter out, "H-how is t-this possible?! He's dead! Could Kabuto have mastered that forbidden jutsu?!"

Yamato asks, "What do you mean senpai? What's happening with this fog?"

Kakashi answers, "This is no fog. This is the Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

A deep voice rings out, "Hmm, Kakashi? Strange, I thought I died. But, here I am, forced to do combat with you once more. Funny how fate can be, huh, Kakashi?"

Sakura gasps out, "This voice! This thick mist! I-it can't be, can it?!"

Kakashi says with a deadly seriously tone, "Yes Sakura. It's Zabuza. I recognize his chakra signature mixed into the mist."

Zabuza replies, "Hey, it's one of the brats you had with you in Nami. Hmm, she looks quite a bit older now. Must have been a few years since my passing. I have no regret over my death or the part you played in it Kakashi, but I have no control over my own body, so you'll have to stop me by force. I can't stand being forced to fight someone else's battle, so hurry up and put me back in the dirt!", irritation seething from his mouth.

Kakashi quickly orders through Fuu's link, {Everyone! Form up and take Manji formations! Zabuza is master of the silent kill and can easily sneak up on you! Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, I need you three to form up around Yukimaru! Your abilities will better allow you to sense his approach! Sakura, Fuu, and Sai, will stay alert and will only move to aid you in the event of an attack! Yamato and I will focus on bringing down Zabuza while you keep an eye out for Haku, he's most likely the other new chakra signature. Be careful, he's from the Yuki clan, making him a Ice user and equally skilled in the silent kill technique as Zabuza!}

Yamato asks, {I've heard that Zabuza was killed by you in Nami and he just confirmed that himself, so how is he here now, Senpai?}

Kakashi explains, {I believe that Kabuto has mastered the Edo Tensei, unless you can explain how two dead shinobi are now alive and trying to kill us.}

Kiba asks, {What's the Edo Tensei?!}

Yamato explains, {It's a forbidden jutsu created by the Second Hokage. It uses a live human sacrifice to summon a dead soul to the world of the living and binds them to the summoner, forcing them to do their biding. Seeing as they are already dead, they can't be killed or defeated in the conventional way. In other words, they are immortal.}

Shino responds by asking, {If they are immortal, then how are we suppose to defeat them? Do we simply go after the castor of the jutsu?}

Kakashi answers, {No. Apparently, even killing the castor won't end the jutsu. The only way to defeat them, is to seal their movements completely, or seal away their souls, like the Third Hokage did when Orochimaru used this jutsu against him. That, or we find Kabuto and force him to release the jutsu.}

Sakura comments, {What a frightening jutsu! Lets just hope Kabuto doesn't decide to summon someone more powerful than Zabuza and Haku.}

Fuu asks, {So, Kakashi-sensei, should one team focus on capturing Kabuto?}

Kakashi answers, {No. So long as this mist, with two masters of the silent kill lying in wait, is still around, we can't afford to wonder off in search of Kabuto. One, if not all us, are likely to be picked off before getting anywhere near Kabuto. Only once we've neutralized Zabuza and Haku do we move on Kabuto, though, if Naruto was here, we'd be able to pinpoint the enemy so that we could do both, but he's currently missing.}

Hinata asks in concern, {Then shouldn't we send out a search team to find him, like you originally planned?}

Yamato answers, {That was before we found ourselves in this mess, for now, just stay focused on detecting the enemies movements as best you can. Once this problem is taken care of, we can resume the search for Naruto.}

Kakashi responds, {Enough talk! They're coming!}

Back with Naruto and Guren, they are both naked, with Guren laying on top of Naruto, using his sage coat as a blanket. Though, to be more accurate, she's sleeping on top of a shadow clone that Naruto switched out with. The real Naruto is dressed in the rest of his clothing and is searching around the Three Tails to find that fog it produced earlier. He's hoping to reinduce the state he was in before while everyone is safely away from him, even Guren is locked inside his barrier, so no one can get hurt if he goes off the deep end again.

Naruto spends a few minutes wondering around before the fog he's searching for finds him. Once he notices it's presents, Naruto sits down into his meditative possiton and closes his eyes.

Dark Naruto mocks, "Wow! You bagged yourself another piece of strange! Bravo! At least this one can't run out on you like the last one. I'm sure that she'll genuinely love you, ha! Just like Sakura-chan has, right?! You know that she's just using you as her safety net! If Sasuke ever came around and asked for her to dump your pathetic ass, she would in a heartbeat!"

Naruto calmly responds, "That's most likely the truth about Sakura-chan, but I'm willing to risk it. Though, I'm not sure if Fuu or Hinata will, so I'll just have talk to them about it first. As for Guren, well, I never really even thought about it. I just felt how much she needed to be comforted and loved, so I gave it to her. What she does next is all up to her."

Dark Naruto humps before replying, "Hinata and Fuu, huh? They'll leave too, right along side Sakura. After all, why would anyone want to love us? We're monsters in the eyes of the world and nothing will change that!"

Naruto responds, "I know what you mean."

Dark Naruto replies in shocked confusion, "Huh?!"

Naruto explains, "I have these feelings just like you do. No. I am you, just as much as you are me. But, just because we have these worries and even dark thoughts, doesn't mean that they'll happen, or that we should waste our time fearing they'll happen."

Dark Naruto yells out, "They will! Everyone treats us like garbage! No! Less than that! We're nothing in their eyes and have been since we were born! So why should we forgive them and act like it never happened, or that they won't revert back?!"

Naruto answers, "It doesn't matter if they turn back to their hateful selves, we still have people who know what we are, yet they still except us for who we really are. Some have even chosen to love us, so stop being afraid of that love and just let them in."

Dark Naruto responds, "I-I'm not afraid of anything! Your the one who's afraid! The one that's cried, that yelled, that begged! I'm the one that's taken all that misery they shoved into your heart! I'm the only reason you're still here and I'm not going away!"

Naruto stands up and slowly walks toward his dark half, getting it to mock, "What?! You think you can force me out! HA! You've already tried that and nearly killed your friends in the process!"

Naruto doesn't brake his stride and just before he reaches his dark half, it cocks it's fist back while yelling out, "You can't beat me! I'll never leave you alone! I'll-"

Dark Naruto is interrupted by Naruto embracing him in a hug while responding in a gentle voice, "I know you won't leave me alone. You've been here with me through all the worst moments of our life, and I think you for that, but you don't need to suffer any longer."

Dark Naruto cries back, "So what?! You don't need me anymore! I'm just suppose to disappear like I never existed in the first place?!"

Naruto tightens his embrace as he replies, "No. You're staying here, inside my heart, were it's being filled up with the very love you so desperately crave and deserve. It's time we became one person and shared both the pain and love of our lives. You no longer have to carry all that hate and pain by yourself anymore. I'm strong enough now to help ease that burden. Thank you for everything you've done for us, now lets move forward together."

His Dark-self has streams of tears coming down it's face as the darkness leaves it's eye, uttering out, "A-about time you j-jerk.", as it disintegrates into particles of light, leaving just Naruto in a large expanse of white light and tears streaming down his face.

Naruto opens his eyes to see that he's still sitting down and that the fog has cleared. He takes a moment to smile to himself, feeling elation at finally overcoming his own hatred, well, it was more like finally excepting that part of himself, before standing and heading back to Guren.

Having reentered the barrier, Naruto find Guren fully dress and his clone nowhere to be seen, but considering that he got the memories of his clone popping as Guren tried to restart their previous actions, it's not all that surprising.

Guren looks at Naruto's smugly smiling face and responds a little heatedly, "What?! Don't think that just because we had sex that it means anything more than that. Sometimes sex is just sex. A way to releave some tension and have some fun, that's all it was.", trying to convince herself more than anyone.

Naruto responds, "Yeah, I know that. I never had any expectations of it being anything else, but my door is always open if you need it."

Guren scoffs, "Ha! You're not so good that I'd be coming back to you in desperation, on my hands and knees like a dog! So don't be so full of yourself!"

Naruto corrects himself in the worry that he gave the wrong signal, "No! I-I didn't mean that! I was just trying to say that if you and Yukimaru want a place to stay, a home in Konoha, you can come with me."

Guren asks, "Huh? What do mean? I can't live in Konoha! I'm- I was a subordinate of Orochimaru, a man that attacked your village and killed the Third Hokage! I'd never be excepted as anything but a prisoner, and Yukimaru might be seen the same way!"

Naruto explains, "Whoa! Firstly, Suna attacked us too, yet we're strong allies now. Secondly, you're not the first to defect from him and be welcome in our village. Sasuke just came to us; Anko has been around for years; and with your added kekkei genkai, I know that our current Hokage and the council would kill to have you join our ranks. Plus, if you wanted that is, you could join my clan as one of my wives and get the full protection of the Uzumaki clan."

Guren asks in shocked confusion, "Wait! Wives?! As in more than one?!"

Naruto takes a few minutes to explain to Guren about his harem situation and the C.R.A that allows him to have multiply wives to restore the Uzumaki clan.

Guren takes some time to process what Naruto just told her. It'd be great to have an actual place to live with Yukimaru, instead of having to roam around from place to place. Besides, there aren't that many places in the world that are as safe a place to live like Konoha, other than the other hidden villages or the elemental capitals where the Daimyo's live. But, the idea of being apart of a harem is more than a little disconcerting, sure, Naruto's handsome and an excellent lay, not to mention a completely nice guy with loads of power, but still. The idea of sharing a man with other woman is weird, then again, she was loyal to Orochimaru and did far worse things for that fucking snake, so it's not that bad an idea.

Seeing as Guren is getting frustrated with herself, Naruto suggests, "Why don't you think about it while I get us out of here and we meet up with Yukimaru? You don't have to join my clan if you don't want to. We'll still take you in. Besides, it's not entirely my decision in letting you join my clan."

Guren asks while a bit confused, "What do you mean? Aren't you the head of your little harem and just pick and choose who to let in?"

Naruto chuckles as he answers, "Actually, I prefer for the others to have a say in such things, so unless Hinata-chan and Fuu-chan agree to letting you in, you won't be. But if they say yes, and you want to, you'll then have that same power."

Guren shrugs her shoulder as she replies, "Sure, I'll think about it for now, but no promises on what I'll decide. I may just take Yukimaru and go, got that?!"

Naruto offers her his hand as he responds, "Yup! I'm good with whatever you choose to do, Guren.", which she proceeds to take as they disappear in a flash of orange.

Meanwhile, with the rest of the Konoha-nin, Haku had separated Hinata's team from Yukimaru and allowed Kabuto to capture him. Hinata's team proceeded to chase after Kabuto and Yukimaru as Fuu's team attacked Haku.

Zabuza has proven to be just as tuff as Kakashi remembered, even though he doesn't have his Kubikiribocho, he has forced both Kakashi and Yamato back with Fuu, Sakura, and Sai. It's not that the revived Zabuza and Haku are too powerful for them, it's just that with their skills inside the mist, plus being immortal, it has put them at a deadly disadvantage.

Sakura huffs out, {W-why is t-that it feels like w-we're not g-getting anywhere?}

Fuu adds,{No matter how hard we hammer them, they just keep coming! I know that the damage we cause won't really matter, but at least their chakra reserves should be getting low by now!}

Kakashi answers, {It's seems that they have an unlimited supply of chakra. It might be a side effect of the Edo Tensei. After all, I can't imagine that the dead can have chakra, nor that Kabuto has enough chakra to supple both of them with the amount they have. Let alone, to still be giving them more every time they get low.}

Sai asks, {Then does that mean they can use even more powerful jutsu?}

Yamato answers, {No, I don't think so. They seem to be limited to how much their maximum chakra amount is, it's just that they won't ever run out of what they have. So it'd be in our best interest to finish this as quickly as possible.}

Kakashi replies, {Agreed. With every exchange we lose more and more chakra, but they stay the same. It's only a matter of time before we all run dry, so I have a plan to finish this. Are you ready Fuu?}

Fuu answers, {Yeah, but it's still not perfect. I just made it up on the spot.}

Kakashi is suddenly forced to dodge as ice needles rain down upon his position, landing in the strike zone of Zabuza's Water Dragon jutsu. Kakashi ends up getting slammed into a nearby rock formation, but he explodes on contact, revealing that he was just another clone.

Haku responds, "You need to hurry Kakashi. Were starting to whittle you down with every assault, it won't be long now before one of you ends up dead."

Kakashi tunnels out from underneath Haku and spears him with his chidori clean through his chest, bringing back the memory of when Kakashi first killed him.

Haku grabs Kakashi's arm as he sadly says, "It seems that in the end I was unable to save Zabuza, and now we're both forced to do another's biding. I've completely failed you Zabuza."

Zabuza appears from behind Kakashi with a kunai in hand, planning to kill off Kakashi, but gets hammered away by Fuu's darkened fist. He ends up flying right towards Sakura, who slams him into the ground with all her might, a large crater forms underneath Zabuza's shattered body in the process. Normally a blow like that would have been enough to kill most shinobi, but with Zabuza being immortal, it only slows him down. Which allows Yamato to bind Zabuza up with his wood style as Sai works on completing his sealing jutsu.

Kakashi takes the time to explain, "You're wrong Haku. Zabuza didn't die that day because of your failure, but because he couldn't stand to let your honor be soiled by Gato. Even though he was in no shape to fight, he charged into a small army of Gato's thugs and killed him at the cost of his own life. Do you know why he did that, Haku?"

Zabuza replies, "You talk too much Kakashi!"

Kakashi continues, "He did it because your were important to him. You were more than just a tool to him, you are his most precious person. Your death filled his heart with so much pain that even he, the Demon of the Mist, couldn't hold back his tears."

Haku has tears running down his face as he looks at Zabuza and asks, "I-is that t-true Zabuza?", a hope filled plea visible on his face.

Zabuza looks at Haku, remembering all the time they've spent together, how he raised him like a son, hell, Haku's the closest he'd ever have to family, so answers, if some what begrudgingly, "Yes. It's true, every last word. I-I'm sorry I never told how much you meant to me."

Haku closes his eyes as the last of his tears stream down his face, before opening them as he responds, "No. You have nothing to be sorry for Zabuza. You gave me a reason to exist. I know that I wouldn't have lived as long as I did if not for you. You're my family and the reason why I died happy. So, thank you for everything Zabuza.", as Haku speaks, a light surrounds him as his body begins to crumble away and his spirit leaves this word.

By the end of his words, Haku has completely moved on, revealing a dead Oto-nin surrounded by ash that hits the ground, to Kakashi's great surprise.

Zabuza then smiles himself before fading away just like Haku did, saying as he goes, "See you soon, Haku."

Fuu asks in a very confused tone, "Ah? Did we win? And what exactly happened to them?"

Kakashi guesses, "Hmm, it seems that the Edo Tensei has an unforeseen flaw. I think that as long as the summoned individual still has their consciousness, they can override the jutsu by letting go of whatever attachments they have left in the world."

Sakura asks/wonders, "Then does that mean that they can no longer be summoned? Also, can the people that leave this world without regret be summoned by the Edo Tensei in the first place?"

Kakashi answer with uncertainty, "I don't think so. It does make a sort of sense that only those who still have attachments to the world can be brought back."

Fuu ask, just as confused as ever, "What do mean?"

Kakashi explains, "Well, it's been long believed that souls of the departed tend to linger in this world when they've died with regret. Like those who died before achieving their dreams, or telling someone that they're sorry, or that they loved them. Maybe, the Edo Tensei can revive these lost souls that can't let go of their attachments to the world of the living, but those that have no regrets, which is extremely rare for shinobi, can't be removed from the grips of the afterlife. They've become too grounded in that realm, and with nothing to tie them to ours, they simply can't leave."

Yamato speaks up, "Well, whatever the reason, they're gone and we can now move on to capturing Kabuto and finding Naruto."

Sai lets out a breath of relief before saying, "Good. I wasn't completely sure that I could have pulled off the Crouched Tiger Bullet sealing jutsu. I'm still not completely able to perform it yet, but I'll work on it. At least Fuu was able to reconfigure her communication ability to sense others through a type of sonar."

Fuu blushes a bit at the compliment, replying bashfully, "Well, I kind of stole the idea from that bat user guy, so it's not that impressive. It's also incomplete with a sort range and peoples locations don't always come out that clear."

Sakura responds, "Don't be so modest Fuu. You were able to create a sensory jutsu in the middle of a battle, and it's thanks to that, we were able detect Zabuza and Haku's movements."

Kakashi adds, "Sakura's right Fuu, you did an amazing job. But now we need to get moving and catch up with Hinata's group to help them capture Kabuto!", receiving affirmative response from everyone there before moving out.

Meanwhile, Naruto has Hirashin'd him and Guren to the mark he placed on Yukimaru, who happens to have his neck in the jaws of a snake that's attached to Kabuto's right arm!

Guren notices this and reacts by forming her crystal blade and slicing the snake's head off, while Naruto grabs Yukimaru before he hits the ground. This gets Kabuto to jump away from them and closer to the lakes edge.

Guren yells out in fury, "What have you done to Yukimaru you piece of shit?!"

Kabuto chuckles to himself before answering, "Acquiring his ability to control the Three Tails. Thought that'd be obvious, but, I shouldn't expect lower life forms like yourself to understand such things.", while Naruto enters Sage Mode.

Guren snaps back, "Yeah! I'll show you a lower life form, you filthy fucking snake! You're just a cheap knock-off of Orochimaru!", while charging Kabuto with the intent to kill him.

Naruto yells out, "STOP GUREN!", getting her to jump back as a white snake comes bursting from underground, trying to bite into her with poisonous fangs.

Guren replies as she lands next to Naruto, "Thanks for the heads up. He might be an imitation of Orochimaru, but that doesn't mean I should underestimate him."

Naruto responds grimly, "I'm afraid that's not what I was warning you about. Yukimaru is burning up and I can sense a foreign chakra rampaging through his chakra! Kabuto must have done something to him, so we need him alive to fix it.", while gently placing Yukimaru down on the ground.

Guren yells out in shocked concern, "What?! Kabuto! What did you do to him?!", fixing her glare on him with fury burning in her eyes.

Kabuto smirks as he answers, "I left an insurance policy inside Yukimaru, just in case that you or the Konoha-nin caught me. I injected him with a unique poison of my very own design. It'll completely destroy his chakra network and kill within three hours, probably less, considering the damage that was already caused by the medication I gave him before. Oh, and don't think that Sakura can save him by creating an antidote. Even the legendary Tsunade wouldn't be able to create one in time to save Yukimaru, so, if you want him to live, you'll do exactly what I say."

Naruto moves closer to Kabuto while cracking his knuckles and replies with menace in his voice, "Or, we can just beat the dog shit out of you and take the antidote!"

Kabuto responds smugly, "That'd work if I actually had it on me, but, unfortunately for you I hid it. I suppose you could try torturing me, or even getting a Yamanaka to try and read my mind, but trust me when I say that Yukimaru will be long dead by time those options bear fruit."

Guren grits her teeth as she forces out, "What do you want?"

Kabuto smugly answers, knowing that he's already won, "Oh! That's quite simple, Guren. I need Naruto there to seal the Three Tails inside of me, thus, making me into a jinchuuriki."

Naruto asks with heat in his voice, "Why the hell would you want that?! You'll only turn yourself into a target for the Akatsuki!"

Kabuto just smirks again, before explaining in a condescending tone, "Well, Naruto-kun, I'm going to be a being that surpasses all others, and unlike you, I don't fear what's beneath me. Besides, I know for fact that a Bijuu's chakra can be split in two, it's Yin and Yang to be more exact, so you only have to seal half of it inside me. That'll allow me to surpass even Lord Orochimaru's vision by becoming a complete jinchuuriki, and one day, I'll have them all and acquire the powers of the Sage of Six Paths! I'll be a new Kami to the world!"

Naruto and Guren both reply, "You're insane."

Kabuto responds, "The kind of reaction I'd expect from those that lack true vision, but regardless, you'll do as I say. That is, unless you don't want the antidote to save Yukimaru's life."

Naruto asks, "If you want them all, then why don't you try and force me to give you the Nine Tails as well? Not that I'd ever."

Kabuto answers, "Don't be stupid. Oh, sorry. I forgot, you don't know how to be anything else. Anyways, it'll take time for me to adjust my body to handle such a thing, and seeing as the Nine Tails is the strongest, it'd be best to wait until I have fully mastered all the others. Then I'll be back to take it from you. Hmm, now that I think about it, I don't want the Akatsuki getting the Yang half of the Three Tails just yet. So I want you to seal the other half inside of Yukimaru."

Guren snaps out in utter refusal, "No way! I won't let you turn him into a weapon! One that the Akatsuki will kill in order to get there hands on the Three Tails!"

Naruto replies firmly, "Nether will I!"

Kabuto responds with humor lacing his voice, "You act like you have a choice in the matter. Either you do as I say, or he dies!"

Guren quickly replies, "Then use me instead! You just need someone else for the Akatsuki to target, so I'll do!"

Kabuto ponders the thought for a second, before agreeing, "Sure, like you said, I just need someone else for the Akatsuki to target. You'll do, just hurry along already! I know that you're just trying to stay for time so that three man squad can come to your aide, so no more games! Get to work sealing it up! I won't be able to hold it for very long and Yukimaru is running out of time!", having the Three Tails emerge from the water as he channels Yukimaru's powers to control it.

Naruto overcome with dread as he explains, "I can't do it. Splitting a Bijuu's entire being in two take a unique power that I don't have!"

Kabuto responds heatedly, "Don't lie to me! The Fourth Hokage did it to the Nine Tails without the Rinnegan, so you can too!"

Naruto further explains, "That was only because he was using the Reaper Death Seal, that uses the power of the fucking Kami of Death, to do it. I don't know that sealing jutsu, nor am I Kami, or have Rinnegan, whatever the fuck that is! So I can't"

Kabuto becomes deadly silent as he thinks about how Naruto has a point, mortals don't have such power over beings, except those that know how to use a Kami's power or have the legendary Rinnegan, which he doesn't have access to.

So Relenting, Kabuto replies, "Fine, then just seal the whole Three Tails into me! The Akatsuki is nothing compared to what I'm becoming!"

Naruto proceeds to remove the Uzumaki scroll from his back and unfurl it to start working on his task.

As Naruto is following the instructions for the seal as he makes it, Kabuto chimes in, "Oh, and don't think I won't recognize the Hirashin formula, so don't try adding it to the sealing formula. Also, don't try anything funny, like purposely making a seal that'll fail, or give you control over me, which I'd recognize as well. Lord Orchimaru had me researching sealing jutu after the Third Hokage sealed up his arms."

Guren asks with disdain, "Then why don't you just seal the Three Tails yourself?"

Kabuto answers, "You mean beside the fact that I have to focus on holding down the Three Tails while it's being sealed? It's because having knowledge on something and being able to do it are to different thing, which I can use some sealing jutsu, but nothing as powerful as Naruto can use. He is an Uzumaki, after all, and they do, sorry, I mean they use to excel at sealing jutsu."

Naruto finishes after ten minutes, wishing he had more time, but Yukimaru can't afford it and he only has so much chakra, so orders, "Alright Kabuto! Have the Three Tails stand inside the sealing array so I can seal it inside you."

Kabuto cranks up his chakra to force the Three Tails to stand in the sealing array as Naruto moves Kabuto in front of it, facing away as he removes his cloak and shirt, revealing his nasty snake-like skin. Standing between them, Naruto begins to blur through hand-signs as his chakra soars through the roof, and a sealing array appearing on his left forearm. Once he's done, Naruto place the now glowing sealing array arm on Kabuto's upper back, between his shoulder blades, transferring it onto him.

Then, Naruto moves in front of Kabuto and with one last hand-sign, places his right hand in the center of his chest, performing his Jutsu "Uzumaki Style: Adamantine Tetragram Seal!".

Several chakra chains bursts from the center of the sealing array on Kabuto's back and pierces the Three Tails, causing them both to scream out in pain as Naruto focuses on sealing the Three Tails into Kabuto. It takes about five minutes for Naruto to gather the chakra and mental strength to seal all of the Three Tails into Kabuto in one go.

Naruto is apprehensive about trusting Kabuto, he is thinking about how once he's done and gotten the antidote's location from Kabuto, he'll just chase him down and recapture him. Kabuto doesn't realize the range of Naruto's enhanced sensory ability.

Naruto has exited Sage Mode from the massive use of chakra needed to seal up the Three Tails, and is now feeling rather fatigued himself as sweat pours down his face.

Guren asks in concern, "Are you alright Naruto?"

Naruto answers with a tired grin, "Yeah, just a little tired. I'm more concerned about Yukimaru."

Kabuto is feeling tired as well, but still decides to ask, "Since when were you able to use the Adamantine Chakra Chains? That's a very rare Uzumaki ability."

Naruto grunts in annoyance, but answers in hope of staling long enough to reenter Sage Mode, probably his last time for the day, "I can't really use them. The sealing jutsu forces them out of me by using an array that can harness the potential from my chakra, that's all. It does mean that I can one day harness that power myself, but I'm a long ways off from being able to create them at will.", ending his explanation as the orange marks form around his eyes.

Kabuto was about to reply, but was stopped sort as he sensed that both Haku and Zabuza had ceased functioning. It makes him realize that there must be an unforeseen weakness to the Edo Tensei, which does concern him, but it also makes him glad that he has found out about it before he starts making his move on both the Akatsuki and the Shinobi world.

Guren impatiently demands, "Stop standing there with that irritating smile on your face and tell us where you hid the antidote!"

Kabuto playfully responds, "Huh? Did I really say that I'd tell you where it was? I don't think so.", that smug-ass smile on his face again.

Naruto places a calming hand on Guren's shoulder to prevent her from kill him, and says with a deadly tone, "I'd stop toying with us if you want to live, Kabuto. Tell us, or death will be the least of your worries."

Guren proceeds to crystalize Kabuto's lower half, leaving only his upper body exposed, then threatens, "I won't hesitate to shatter you into pieces! Where is the fucking antidote?!"

Kabuto smirks as the crystal trapping him shatters away to reveal he is just fine, getting Guren to ask in complete shock, "W-what the hell?! How you'd do that?!"

Kanuto explains, "What do you think I did with that blood sample you gave me? Orochimaru is dead, so obviously it wasn't to prepare you for the transference ritual. I injected it into my body, along with several other kekei genkai carrying blood samples, and as I just proved, I now have the crystal style. It won't be long before every jutsu, even all kekei genkai's will be at my disposal!"

Naruto responds, "Whatever! Be whatever the hell you want to, just tell us where you hid the antidote! Otherwise, you won't live to reach your crazy ass dream!"

Kabuto replies, "Alright, but I'm not going to tell you where it is, you'll just attack me once I do. So, just follow this snake to it's location as I leave, and let me warn you that if I'm captured, the snake will know and stop giving you directions.", as a white snake slithers out from under Kabuto's cloak and starts heading into the woods.

Naruto follows after the snake as Guren picks up Yukimaru to follow after him, but gives one last warning, "If it turns out that you sent us on a wild goose chase and Yukimaru dies because of it, I'll hunt you down to the very ends of the Earth! Then I'll see to it that you suffer so horribly that you'll be begging to die!"

Kabuto replies while turning to leave, "I have no reason to kill the boy just to incite your wrath, I already have everything I want from the both of you, and more.", disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The snake slithered for nearly an hour in the opposite direction that Kabuto fled from, up until Naruto lost Kabuto's chakra signature. Not being able to reenter Sage Mode for awhile, Naruto had to simply let Kabuto go. Though, they did have the fortune of running into Hinata and her team, which allowed Naruto to leave Guren and Yukimaru with them to receive medical attention as he continued to follow the white snake. Kakashi had caught up with him, having been informed by Hinata's group about the current situation, and proceeded to fill Naruto in on what happened with Zabuza and Haku. With Kabuto safely away from his pursuers, the white snake stopped and turned to face Naruto and Kakashi.

Naruto asks, "What? Is it here?"

Kakashi warns, "Careful, this might just be a trap.", pulling out a kunai in response.

The snake then proceeds to regurgitate a vile filled with a green liquid and poofs away.

Naruto has a deadpan face as he realizes that Kabuto just hoodwinked him, the damn snake had the antidote the whole time! Kabuto was just waiting until he was safely away from them before he let the snake give up it's contents. Naruto gains several tick marks and begins to shake with rage at being played by that arrogant asshole!

Kakashi calms Naruto down by placing a hand on his shoulder and saying, "It's alright Naruto, he played all of us. You did the right thing by choosing to save the boy over capturing Kabuto."

Naruto takes a deep breath before replying, "I guess you're right, Kakashi-sensei. We can always recapture Kabuto later, but we'd never be able to bring Yukimaru back to life."

Kakashi gives Naruto his classic eye-smile as he responds, "I'm glad to see how much senjutsu has calmed you, Naruto. I'll almost miss the loudmouth that'd start raving about kicking Kabuto into next week."

Naruto smirks as he explains, "Well, that might not be entirely true, Kakashi-sensei. You see, I left a certain surprise for Kabuto when I was sealing the Three Tails into him.", his smirk turning into a full blown fox grin.

Kakashi asks, "What kind of surprise?"

Naruto answers, "The kind that'll ensure that he doesn't survive. I adjusted his sealing array ever so slightly, so that it'd fail in three hours. Allowing the Three Tails to escape from Kabuto, thus killing him, after all, no one can survive having a Bijuu extracted."

Kakashi asks for clarification, "What exactly did you do that he wouldn't notice?"

Naruto explains, "I'm not very good at the whole complicated explanations, so I'll just say that his seal is just as powerful as it should be, with the exception of the lock. I made it so flimsy that it should be giving way by now, and once the Three Tails notices that the powerful gate keeping it sealed away is unlocked, it'll emerge with no resistance."

Naruto then proceed to Hirashin him and Kakashi back with the others and give the antidote to Yukimaru. He'll also inform them of the dirty trick be pulled on Kabuto.

Meanwhile, with Kabuto, he's being attacked by Pain who was informed by the white Zetsu of the Three Tails fate. Seeing as Kabuto by himself and his know the Three Tails jinchuuriki, Pain decided to target him.

As Kabuto is slammed backwards into boulder, shattering it on contact, from Pain's "Shinra Tensei", getting Kabuto to beg, "Wait! Y-you don't need to kill me to get the Three Tails! You can just take half of it!"

Pain replies coldly, "Why should I go to the trouble of doing that when I already have you?"

Kabuto answers, "Because I have the Edo Tensei and can use it to supply the Akatsuki with powerful and immortal shinobi to help capture the remaining Bijuu!"

Pain stops to think about it, after all, the Akatsuki has lost a lot of it's manpower as of late, so it'd be a great help to their cause. Plus, they can always take the other half later if they really need it.

Kabuto sees Pain thinking it over and decides to try and capitalize on what appears to be an opening by blurring through hand-signs to summon the Kages he's collected. Unfortunately, at that very moment, the Three Tails find out about the open gate of it's seal and breaks out of Kabuto.

An explosion fills the area as the Three Tails is freed, leaving the dead husk of Kabuto's body behind.

Pain looks up at the Three Tails and just calmly says, "Well, I guess this simplifies things.", and proceeds to lift his right arm up at the Three Tails and say, "Shinra Tensei."

It had been a day since giving Yukimaru the antidote, and he is now conscious again as he receives another examination from Sakura. His chakra network is damaged, but nothing that time and several medical procedures shouldn't be able to fix, plus it helps that as a child his chakra network is still growing. With Yukimaru's life no longer in danger and Kabuto dead, or at least that is what Naruto ensures everybody, it's time for them to leave.

Naruto is standing in front of Guren and Yukimaru with the rest of his fellow Konoha shinobi behind him, and asks, "So, have you decided what you're going to do now, Guren?"

Guren looks down at Yukimaru's smiling face as he grips her hand tightly and answers, "I've decide that it'd be best for Yukimaru if we traveled with you to Konoha and seek refuge there. I'm certain that with my unique abilities and knowledge on Oto, I should be able to secure our acceptance by Konoha's leadership. Plus Yukimaru will need more treatments to repair his chakra network, so what else am I to do. Also, I'm honestly not sure about joining the Uzumaki clan, I do like you Naruto, but a harem is a bit much. I'll need more time to think about it, besides, I don't even know if your other, ah, brides to be, will except me.", a bit of a blush appearing on her face.

Naruto replies, "As long as you guys are coming with us to Konoha, then I'm happy. You have no obligation to become one of my wives. All I want is for the both of you to be happy."

Kiba overhears this and puts two and two together, causing him to yell out, "Wait a minute! You had sex with her too! Aww, come on! That's not fair! How many hot women is he going to get with?!"

Sakura elbows Kiba and threatens, "Knock it off already! I'm tired of hearing you bitch in my ears! I'm going to go deaf if you keep it up!"

Sai adds, "You shouldn't be angry at Naruto for your own failures in attracting the opposite sex."

Seeing as Kiba is about to explode, Kakashi says, "Alright, that's enough of that. We still have to report back in with Lady Hokage, so try and maintain your professionalism until were officially done with our mission. Naruto will you do the honors of saving us the time of traveling back and just Hirashin us to village's main gate."

Naruto nods his head as he proceed to make sure that everyone is connected to each other and Hirashin's them to the village's gate. Where they all officially check in at the guard station, including Guren and Yukimaru, who enter in as a refugee and a Kunoichi that has switched sides. Guren and Yukimaru are then taken by Anbu to the T&I Corps, as per the usual procedure for this given circumstance. They'll later be let go once going through several interrogations and receiving word from the Hokage that they are cleared by the Jonin council.

While Guren and Yukimaru are dealing with Ibiki and Inoichi, Naruto and the two teams are being debriefed by Tsunade with her privacy barrier up.

Tsunade lets out a sigh mixed with frustration and relief before saying, "I'm relieved about this whole Kabuto mess being finished, even though Danzo and the elders will use it against me. So I can consider this mission a success, even though we failed to capture the Three Tails, but that was a shot in the dark anyways. So well done."

Sakura asks as most everyone is glad to hear that their mission was a success, "What do mean that Danzo and the elder will use Kabuto's death against you?"

Tsunade explains, "Danzo will actually be secretly happy about that, though he'll use it to take control of the Oto dismantling operation from me. Of course I had already foreseen this, so I'll put up a fight to maintain appearances, but I'll yield by letting Danzo take charge of attacking all the Oto bases but the three bases Sasuke told us about. That should satisfy him and the elders, while allowing us retrieve the most important shinobi and research data from Oto."

Plus, it'll help keep Danzo busy while she continues to plan his downfall, which she plans on furthering by having everyone but Naruto and Sai leave her office.

Once it's just the three of them and they privacy barrier is up, Tsunade starts by saying, "Now that we have the Kabuto situation dealt with, and the addition of the crystal user, we can refocus on dealing with Danzo and his Root, the more immediate threat."

Naruto responds, "Alright, but what more do you need from me?"

Tsunade answers, "Well, it has more to do with Sai. I want you to either remove the curse mark on him, or find a way to neutralize it's effects. As long as he has it, he won't be able to tell us anything about Danzo or Root. Show him Sai."

Sai proceeds to stick his tongue out to reveal the curse mark placed on it, getting Naruto to move closer to analyze it.

Giving it a thorough examination, Naruto says, "Sure, it won't be a problem to remove or neutralize, but I suggest that I don't remove it. There seems to be a link built into the curse mark that will signal whoever it's connected to, which is most likely Danzo, that it has been removed, and/or possibly indicating your death."

Tsunade continues, "So it'd be best to temporarily neutralize it's effect without removing it. That way Danzo won't realize that Sai has turned on him and that we are looking into him."

Naruto nods his head as he's unsealing the equipment he needs to create an array on the floor that will block the activation of the curse marks effects. It takes a few minutes for Naruto to draw it out on the floor and give it a once over to ensure that it's sound.

Naruto stands up and says, "There! Now you can fill us in on everything about Danzo and Root without triggering that curse mark. Well, as long as you are in this circle array, that is."

Sai responds, "Thank you Naruto. But first a test run. Danzo has a Root members inside of both of the Yamanaka and Aburame clans. Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune are his two most loyal root members."

Tsunade replies with shock, "What?! They are both very close to the line of succession in their respective clans! Damn! His influence is even greater than I feared it would be."

Naruto asks, "Um, I thought that Ino and Shino are next in line to take over as the head of their clans, am I wrong?"

Tsunade answers, "No, you're not wrong, but accidents can always be arranged so that Danzo's moles can take their place whenever he chooses. But, that's for me to worry about, Naruto. You've done all that I needed of you, go home and rest up for the mission to attack those Oto bases for Sasuke. You'll be heading out with Team Asuma to the hideout containing Uzumaki Karin in two days."

Naruto replies, "What about Danzo and-"

Tsunade interrupts him, "I'll be handling that with Sai and several other individuals I trust while you're helping Sasuke to forge his team to take down Itachi. We need Danzo to think that we are focusing our attentions else where for now. I'll inform you of all relevant information when we're ready to make our move, so until then, just go about your life as you normally would."

Naruto swallows his desire to argue back and replies, "Yes Lady Hokage. As you wish.", then proceeds to Hirashin away.

Tsunade turns her attention to Sai and orders, "Now, tell me everything thing you know about Danzo and the Foundation. I want to know every dirty little secret Danzo has and every member of Root he has placed in and out of Konoha."

With that, Sai goes into explicit detail about everything he knows, which isn't as much a Tsunade was hoping for, but it does give her an opportunity to capture those that'll have what she needs, but all in due time. There's no room for mistakes in taking down someone as skilled and paranoid as Danzo.

Meanwhile, Fuu and Hinata are talking in private inside Naruto's apartment with Sakura about her desire to be with Naruto.

Fuu blatantly comes out and says, "No! We're not going to approve of you dating Naruto!"

Sakura is put back and asks, "What?! Why am I being rejected? You already tried to recruit me earlier, what changed?"

Hinata explains with strength in her voice and a little heat, "The way you decided to join us, and the reason why you're deciding to love Naruto now. Naruto is too kind and loving to see it, but we do. You're using Naruto as you're fallback option, the guy to run to after being rejected by Sasuke."

Sakura argues, "No I'm not! I love Naruto and I'm the one that rejected Sasuke!"

Fuu chimes in with disgust in her voice, "Yeah! Only after he didn't turn out the way you wanted him to! Now you're turning to Naruto to comfort you in Sasuke's stead!"

Sakura asks, "What's wrong with that? Besides, I've already told Naruto that I want to take things slow. I don't want to hurt him."

Hinata explains, "It's that as long as Naruto comes after Sasuke in your heart, then there is nothing stopping you from leaving Naruto the moment Sasuke has a change of heart. Can you honestly tell us that if Sasuke came around and asked for your forgiveness, that you wouldn't dump Naruto-kun for him?!"

Sakura move to open her mouth, but is cut off by Fuu saying, "Don't waste our time by lying to us! Until you can convince us that you love Naruto with all your heart, and this the most important part, more than Sasuke, then you won't be allowed to date Naruto!"

Sakura asks with some heat in her voice, "What?! Are you two going to stop Naruto from dating me? Huh? Or are you going to attack me if I do? How are you going to stop me from dating him?"

Hinata answers calmly, "We don't have to do anything more than tell Naruto-kun that we don't want him to date you. He agreed to that part of the deal the very first moment we got together, and he'll never go back on his word."

Fuu adds, "So you might as well just go home and get working on trying to convince us that you deserve to be apart of our family."

Sakura get red in the face before turning around and stomping out of Naruto's apartment, she'd never been so furious before in her life. She finally decides to except her feeling for Naruto, but then Fuu and Hinata just decide out of the blue that she can't be with him, the nerve! Just as Sakura slams the door closed behind her as she leaves, Naruto Hiraishin's in.

Looking at the perturbed looks on Fuu and Hinata's faces, Naruto replies, "So I take it you told Sakura that you don't want her being with me and that she can't join our family. I can't say that I'm surprise, after all, she did only just make a move on me after Sasuke turned out to not be what she wanted. I'll even admit that I'm somewhat skeptical about whether or not she really loves me, or if she's just using me as a fallback."

That take the both of them by surprise, not expecting Naruto to get it right away or that he'd understand how they felt about it, getting Hinata to responds, "Y-yes Naruto-kun. We can't trust Sakura's motivations just yet, but we'll give her a chance to prove that she does love you and won't turn back towards Sasuke. I'm sorry if we're coming off too harsh-"

Naruto interrupts her by saying, "No, you're not wrong about your decision and you have every right to turn down anyone that you think doesn't truly love me. I'm already asking a lot from the both of you as it is, so I have no right to complain about any decision you make in the best interest of this family and soon to be restored Uzumaki clan, as long it holds merit that is. Like I said, I'm having some doubts myself, so I want to spend some alone time with Sakura to better gauge how I feel about her, and if she has truly gotten over Sasuke. She heself told me that she might still have feelings for him, so wants to take things slow."

Fuu replies, "I guess that's fair, but we still have to give her the ok before you can seal the deal and add her to our family."

Naruto responds, "Yeah, no problem Fuu-chan. Oh! I almost forgot! I also need the two of you to think about adding Guren to our family, just incase she really wants to."

Hinata replies, "Ok, but we'll need to spend some time with her first to get a better feel for who she is. After all, we were trying to kill each other not that long ago."

Fuu chimes in with a little heat, "And don't think that I'm just going to let the fact that you slipped on your promise not to have sex with enemy kunoichi! It's only been a week since Yugito stole your seed and a jutsu from you!"

Naruto nervously scratches the back of his head while responding, "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry about. It's just that I felt how lonely she was, and how much she needed to feel loved. It just ended up happening. I now that I lucked out that Guren was being genuine with me and decided to come with us to Konoha."

Hinata chimes in, "Yes you were Naruto-kun. You need to be more cautious about who you take to bed if you want this whole harem thing to workout. Even so, I trust in your judgment when it comes to peoples character. You've always be able to get straight to the heart of a person, even when they themselves don't see it. That's why you didn't kill Guren earlier when you could have, right?"

Naruto answers, "Yes. The first moment I got a close up feel of Guren, I was able to feel the swirling emotions of pain and loneliness hidden under her darker exterior."

Fuu replies, "Ok, I'll forgive you just this once, but you're on thin ice mister!", giving him a strong stare.

Getting Naruto to respond, "Thank you Fuu-chan. I won't forget, nor will I mess up again. I promise! Ya know!"

Fuu's voice then turns sultry as she says, "Then how about we seal the deal right here, right now. Hinata can join if she wishes. Hmm, Hinata?"

Hinata blushes a bit before responding, "Um, ah, I-I was actually hoping that me and Naruto could be together right now. It's not too late out, so my father won't expect me home for a few more hours, and I haven't really had sex with Naruto-kun since our first night together. So, could you, perhaps, um, go somewhere for a an hour, no, make that two please, Fuu."

Fuu's mood drops immediately, but she relents, "Fine. I have been hogging Naruto in the bedroom for several weeks now, so I can wait another. Besides, maybe I can find Ino and just spend the night at her place."

Hinata happily replies, "Thank you Fuu!"

Fuu responds as she's about to hop out of the window to find Ino, "No need to think me Hinata, it's only fair that you get some more alone time with Naruto. Have fun you two!", ending with a wave before jumping across the rooftops.

Hinata doesn't wait a single beat as she quickly tackles Naruto to the ground and proceeds to scratch every last one of her itches for the next two hours.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto's Training Done Wright

By: FallenDispair

Chapter: 12

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

**Authors Notes: Sorry for the late update, personal reasons. Oh, and I spent some time editing the pervious chapters, the largest changes where made in chapter 11, so you might want to reread that one.**

Tsunade had spent her night going over her plans for capturing Fu Yamanaka and Torune Aburame, not getting to sleep till very late. She knows that for their capture to succeed without Danzo knowing, is to receive the aid of both of their current clan heads. Inoichi won't be a problem, for he already knows about Danzo and her plan to take him down. The problem lies with Shibi Aburame, she has no idea if he'll be willing to take the risk of treating one of his family members as a traitor with only the word of Sai.

So, as Tsunade walks into her office that following morning to find Danzo, Homura, and Koharu already waiting for her, she sighs in annoyance. She knew they'd be confronting her soon, but she was hoping that they'd at least wait for her start her day.

Putting her best professional face and tone of voice on, Tsunade says, "Hello honored elders. It's always a pleasure to be graced with your presence.", as she takes her seat at her desk.

Homura replies, "I'd like to say the same, but seeing as you've been going around our backs again, I can't."

Koharu adds, "We've been giving you a lot of leeway as of recent with the jinchuuriki's mission assignments. So, for you to then overreach with secretly authorizing the transportation of Kabuto, which ended in his escape and eventual death, is a grave mistake."

Danzo finishes, "It brings into question of your ability as Hokage. It's not in the best interests of Konoha to have a Hokage that puts her personal interests above our village's safety.", his voice practically oozing with smug superiority.

Tsunade calmly explains, "Firstly, it is fully within my power to authorize the transportation of criminals, and even assign missions as I see fit, as Hokage. You are elders, NOT the rulers of this village. You are ONLY to give advice on such matters, you have no authority over my actions."

Koharu responds, "That's true Tsunade, but Danzo's point still stands. We are on the cusp of destroying Oto, and your actions nearly allowed Kabuto to ruin the whole operation!"

Tsunade quiets them down by giving them all hardened stares, before continuing, "Secondly, with the Oto operation being so near, we needed to confirm Sasuke's information with a secondary source. Kabuto was that source, but unfortunately, he had an exceptionally large amount of genjutsu barriers and traps that'd kill him if activated. So we were forced to take him in person to verify Sasuke's information. We had the Hiraishin placed on him in the event of an escape, but we never even considered that he could remove it."

That gets Danzo's attention, thus he asks, "How exactly did he achieve that? The Hiraishin is suppose to be permanent, even lasting after the castors death."

Tsunade explains, "He cut away an entire chunk of flesh that the Hiraishin was attached to, which would have been lethal for most people, but Kabuto was an exceptional medic, so he survived."

Homura says, "Continue."

Tsunade does so, "After he was able to give the Anbu I assigned for the mission the slip, I sent Kurenai's Team, with Kakashi taking over as their squad leader, to find him. We were able to get a general location from an Anbu Kabuto killed, thus narrowing down the search area. That was when Kakashi sent me a sample of a crystalized beetle, after having found the Oto base Kabuto was suppose to show us."

Koharu asks, "What's the importance of this beetle?"

Tsunade explains, "It proved the existence of the crystal style!"

That got all three of the elders to have shocked expressions appear on their faces.

Tsunade continues, "So I decided to send Team Kakashi, with Yamato acting as squad captain, to back up the search team. After all, everyone here knows the dangerous reputation of the Crystal Style, and how important the opportunity of acquiring it for Konoha is."

Homura asks with mixed shock and hope, "Then does that mean that you've secured they crystal user here in Konoha?!"

Tsunade nods her head as Koharu asks, "How'd you achieve that?"

Tsunade explains, "I didn't. It was Naruto's doing. The Crystal user, Guren, has agreed to defect to Konoha because of him, and is even contemplating joining his clan. Thus, cementing her place in our village, but she's still going through the interrogation process, and will need to be accepted by the jonin council before being full admitted to our forces."

Even though this is good news, Danzo can't help but feel that Naruto is gaining too much political power. It's bad enough that he's gained a lot more actual power through senjutsu, but with his rising status in the village's power structure, it'll make it next to impossible to lock him up like he wants. After all, both Naruto and Fuu are military weapons that need to be properly controlled by him, for the villages own good.

Danzo then decides to bring up, "What about the small boy that was brought in with this Guren woman?"

Tsunade isn't surprised that Danzo knows about him, so answers candidly, "He is the young man that Kabuto was using to control the Three Tails. His name is Yukimaru."

Once again the elders are taken back by such a revelation, and Tsunade's almost uninterested manner in which she told them. Their flabbergasted reactions bring a small smile to Tsunade's face, happy to have one up on Danzo's smug ass, though, not as much as when she thinks about how she'll be ending his rein soon.

Koharu asks for clarification, "Then, are you saying that, not only have you secured the Crystal style for our village, but also an individual that has the power to influence Bijju?!"

Tsunade smugly answers, "So it would seem. I guess my so called self interests and mistakes have lead to quiet a boon for Konoha. Now wouldn't it? It's almost a blessing that Kabuto escaped, only to lead us to such promising prospects."

Homura rains on her parade by asking, "What of the Three Tails? Have we secured another Bijuu as well?"

That drops Tsunade's smile as she answers, "No. Unfortunately, the Akatsuki had arrived after both teams had exhausted themselves killing Kabuto, who had mastered the Edo Tensei, and fighting off an enrage Three Tails. It was only thinks to the aid of Guren and Yukimaru that they were able to escape, keeping Naruto and Fuu out the Akatsuki's hands. They were even forced to leave Kabuto's corpse behind."

Danzo is actual relieved that they failed in capturing the Three Tails, for if they had, he'd never be able to take the Oto dismantling operation from Tsunade. He needs to ensure that he can get all the research Orochimaru has that can help with his arm. Plus, there is the possibility that Orochimaru has proof of his involvement in the Oto/Suna invasion.

Homura replies, "Well, that is a shame. Having been able to weaken the Akatsuki while strengthen our village would have been ideal."

Koharu adds, "And from the sound of it, you nearly lost our jinchuuriki to the Akatsuki in the process."

Tsunade wants to argue that point, but Danzo cuts in, "Clearly, it seems that you can't be trusted with handling the Oto operation. Not only did you nearly cause it's entire failure, but almost lost our village's most powerful weapons in the process. Princess."

Tsunade yells out, "Now that's going too far! I've not compromised this operation! As for Naruto and the Akatsuki, we've already decided on that issue. He'll always be a target!"

Homura cuts in, "True, but the fact that Kabuto escaped due to your poor decisions is still your fault."

Koharu adds, "So, it'd be for the best if we leave dismantling Oto to someone more fit to the task. I believe that Danzo would be the best option in handling such a task."

Danzo smugly replies, "I'd be honored to do it."

Homura responds, "Then it's decided. Danzo will takeover the Oto operation due to Tsunade's incompetence in such matters."

Tsunade snaps out, "Now you listen here you senile geezers! I'm Hokage! You don't have the authority! I just got done explaining that to you! You advise! That's ALL! So , watch your tone while addressing your HOKAGE! You are all dangerously close to treason!"

That gets the elders to stop in their place, knowing that Tsunade is right. Without the majority of the Jonin councils support, they don't have the power to do anything to the current Hokage.

Homura decides to speak up in their defense, "That is very true Tsunade, we can't, but we can get the council to. So I suggest that you spare yourself the embarrassment and just lets this go."

Danzo adds, "It doesn't look good when a Hokage's orders are vetoed by the Jonin council. It shows a weakness in that Hokage's rule. It could cause you to lose a lot of support with the clans."

Koharu replies, "It's easier for everyone if you just assign Danzo to the Oto operation."

Tsunade takes a calming breath before replying, "Fine, but the three bases that Sasuke wants to hit are off limits. I, and all of you with the jonin council, agreed to allow Sasuke to recruit members from those bases in person. Plus, one of which contains an Uzumaki survivor, thus giving Naruto the right as the Uzumaki clan head to handle her retrieval."

The elders share a look before Homura responds, "Agreed. Then this issue is settled. Danzo will handle the strikes on the remaining nine Oto bases."

Tsunade nods her head, getting Danzo to say, "Good. I expect the plans on those bases, and your official seal of approval on my handling their dismantling, on my desk within the hour."

With that, the elders leave Tsunade's office with Danzo feeling smug in his victory over Tsunade, missing the hidden smile on her face. He's completely unaware of how he just fell into her trap, doing exactly as she wanted him to.

Naruto had, for the first time since having Fuu move into his apartment, woke up alone in bed. Hinata had left home after being thoroughly satisfied, and Fuu has seemed to have spent the night with Ino. So his morning routine was slightly different, in the fact that he didn't end up having sex at all when showering or eating breakfast.

Naruto, after getting dressed in a more casual manner, leaving his sage coat and jacket in his closet, heads out to relax. After all, he only has two days to relax before heading out on another mission. Seeing as how he wants to check up on the progress of his new estate and see how Inari is doing, he heads off to the Uzumaki shrine on the outskirts of Konoha.

Meanwhile, Fuu wakes to an empty bed and a note on the nightstand. Reading the note, Fuu finds out that Ino needed to attend an important clan meeting early that morning, and didn't want to disturb her peaceful slumber, so left before she woke. Also, that she is to lock up before leaving, after being welcome to some beakfast in her fridge and a shower.

Fuu smiles at Ino's generosity and takes advantage of both her shower and some of her food before leaving. But it does pose a question as she's locking up by checking the locks before jumping out of Ino's window. How serious is her relationship Ino?

Sakura didn't sleep all that well last night, she kept on tossing and turning about the way Fuu and Hinata chewed her out. Deep down she knows they're right, but it still bugs her that they can just dictate her love for Naruto. Then again, it's good to know that if she does really end up with Naruto and his harem, she'll have just as much power as they do in who Naruto brings into the relationship. That he can't just show one night with a random woman and declare that's she's now apart of their family, and she can veto his decision incase he actual does.

So lost in her thoughts as she's walking down the street, Sakura ends up bumping into Hinata of all people.

Sakura quickly lets out an apologetic responds to Hinata, who's just dropped a bunch of scolls on the ground,"I'm so sorry Hinata! Let me help you with those."

As Sakura bends down to aid Hinata in picking up her scrolls, Hinata replies, "Oh! That's ok Sakura-san. I shouldn't have been carrying so many in my arms. I was just so alarmed that I just grabbed them and ran off without remembering to seal them back up into their storage scroll."

Sakura continues to help Hinata while asking, "What is so alarming that you'd do something like that?"

Hinata is a little hesitant to tell Sakura about what she found in the Uzumaki scrolls, but decides that Sakura is trust worthy and cares about Naruto, even though she's still not ok with her being with him just yet.

So Hinata answers quietly, "Well, I seemed to have found a loophole in the Hyuga/Uzumaki contract that gave my clan the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. It's still very complex and I'm having a hard time getting certain parts, but if I'm right, Naruto, as the official head of the Uzumaki clan, can have the seal removed from my families control."

Sakura continues in her shocked revelation, "Meaning that the Hyuga clan can no longer brand members of your family with that curse mark!"

Hinata quickly replies, "SShhhh! I haven't fully proved that yet, but with some more digging I should be able to. Unless members of the main household find out about how close I am. They can destroy the records our clan has, if they already haven't, and even see to it that these scrolls are destroyed. Seeing as they are the last surviving records of the Uzumaki clan, we'd lose all our proof! So keep it down Sakura!"

Sakura responds bashfully, "Sorry Hinata. I'll keep my voice down."

Hianta replies, a little more relaxed, "Good. Now lets go somewhere more private to discuss what I've found.", having finished picking all the scrolls back up, and is now guiding Sakura to Naruto's apartment.

Meanwhile, Tsunade is having a private meeting with Yamanaka Inoichi and Aburame Shibi in her office, with the privacy barrier up.

Shibi asks, "What is this about Lady Hokage? You said this was urgent."

Inoichi has an idea at to what this is about, but still asks, "I'm rather curious myself as to why you'd need to see the both of us in secret?"

Tsunade explains in a calm and collected voice, "I summoned you both here in secret because I've been recently informed that members of your clans are working as Root agents for Danzo."

Shibi replies in his usual stock tone, though, those that know him would notice the slightly higher pitch, "Who? How do know this? Who's your source?"

Tsunade answers while Inoichi is trying to figure that out himself, "Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fu. As for my informant, he is a recently turned Root agent himself, and I'll leave it at that for now."

Both Shibi and Inoichi are taken by who the moles are. After all, they are both loyal and high ranking members of their respective clans. They're next in line after their own children to take over as clan heads. Hell, Torune use to be close to Shino after his father died.

Tsunade, unfortunately, continues with the bad new, "It's also seems that they played a hand in aiding Danzo with supplying Orochimaru with critical intelligence for his assault on our village. That you both know lead to the death of the Third Hokage and many Konoha shinobi."

Shibi replies, "I don't believe you. No way Torune aided in the Oto/Suna invasion. My own son almost died and several members of our family did die. I can't believe my own blood could betray us. This Root agent who told you this is obviously tricking you at Danzo's behest."

Inochi wants to agree with Shibi, but knows Danzo's tactics through Kabuto's memories, so holds his tongue.

Tsunade responds just as calmly as before, having expected such a reaction, "I don't expect you to take the word of a stranger, much less one that has worked for Danzo. So, I have a way to prove it to you."

Inoichi asks, "And how to you plan to prove it?"

Tsunade answers, "I don't. You'll be getting the proof yourselves."

Getting Shibi to irritably reply, "You want us to go digging for dirt on members of our family based off the words of a Root agent that's most likely playing you?! That's ridiculous!"

Before Inoichi can add his own thoughts on the matter, Tsunade further explains, "No, I don't want either of you to going digging into anyone or anything involving this matter."

Inoichi asks in confusion, "Then how are we suppose to find this supposed evidence on them?"

Tsunade answers, "I just need the both of you to summon your clansmen to announce that Fu and Torune will be taking your children's place as clan heirs. When they arrive-"

Inoichi interrupts while raising his voice, "You want us to take away our children's birth rights?! I can't possibly-"

Tsunade cuts him off sternly, "Quiet! Let me finish my plan before you start arguing against it!", while flaring her chakra.

Getting both Inoichi and Shibi to gulp loudly and nod their heads respectively.

Tsunade then continues, "When they arrive, they'll have to stand on a specially made seal that only reacts to the curse mark Danzo places on his subordinates. It'll be hidden from view but will flare up brightly if they carry his mark, thus proving to you that they are in fact root agents. All I ask from the two of you, is that if it does flare up, you'll capture these traitors."

Shibi asks, "What if this seal doesn't react to them, proving they aren't apart of Root? We're just suppose to throw away our children's birth rights."

Tsunade answer with conviction, "Then I'll come forward and reveal it was just a ploy by me, and that I forced your hand into setting up a false meeting."

Inoichi responds, "You do realize that if you do that, then you're practically throwing away your title of Hokage. None of the clans will let you get away with manipulating us for your own gains."

Tsunade replies, "I know, but I'll risk losing my title as Hokage to prevent further manipulation of the clans by Danzo. That is what separates a real Kage from someone who simply wants the power of a Kage. Danzo has manipulated countless people to do horrendous things while appearing as though he's never done anything wrong. He's the type that'd sit back as our village burns, so that he can raise from the ashes to rebuild Konoha as the new Hokage. No true Kage will sit back and watch their people die just to gain their title!"

Shibi and Inoichi full heartedly agree with what Tsunade said, so they give in by asking, "When do you want this to happen?"

Tsunade answers as a smile crosses her face, "When the operation to dismantle Oto is happening in two days. I allowed Danzo to appropriate the majority of the bases from my control so that he'll be too busy to pay attention to our moves. Besides, having his Root agents in your respective clans get a chance at taking the reins is too good an opportunity for him to pass up. That's one of the reasons he has them in the first place, to give him more influence in the clan structures."

Shibi asks, "How are we to explain that our children are unfit to be our heirs? If it's not convincing enough, Danzo won't bite at the bait we place."

Tsunade thinks for a moment before supplying an option, "For Ino, I'd suggest that she has become too focused on wanting to join Sasuke's family when he enacts the CRA to be a viable heir. As for Shino, well, his abilities aren't up to par with Torune, who has the rare antibodies for your clan's most powerful beetles."

Inoichi doesn't like how both Ino and his wife are going to kill him for it, but know it'll work, so he replies, "Yeah, that would work for Ino, even though I'll get my ass rearranged for doing it."

Shibi knows that it's a valid point, but has always believed that Shino will soon surpass Torune, thus securing his birth right. He doesn't want to crush Shino's spirit by writing him off so soon, but yields, knowing that one way or the other, it won't really happen.

Reluctantly, Shibi responds, "Fine. It'll due, but I will look towards you if Shino loses his spirit because of this little show of yours."

Tsunade replies, "Alright, that's fine by me. Now get the process going, I need you ready to move in two days."

Inoichi asks, "Can't we inform our children ahead of time that it's all just a ruse to reveal Danzo's spies?"

Tsunade answers, "I'm afraid not. Danzo will be watching them to see how they react, and if they don't legitimately seemed shaken by their loss, then he'll know something's off. We can't risk him catching on to what we are planning."

Getting affirmative responses from them before lowering the privacy barrier and leaving.

Over with Naruto at his, still in construction, soon to be Uzumaki compound, he's whistling in approval. The once bare bone structure, now has walls, a roof, and stairs. Plus, the shrine is starting to look like new, just missing the decorations and a few walls.

Hearing Naruto's approving sound, Tazuna says, "Well, I'm glad you like it so far gaki! This shitty little dump of yours was not an easy fix. That shrine was practically one strong gust of wind away from crumbling apart."

Naruto turns around quickly and yells out, "Stop calling my family history shitty, you drunkard!"

Tanzuna fires back, "Who are you calling a drunkard, you idiot?!"

Two of them start having sparks collide from their eyes as Inari come out of the shrine drenched in sweat, and toweling off with his custom orange towel.

Seeing Naruto and his grandpa going at it again, Inari decides to break it up by saying, "Hey! Naruto! It's good to see you again. Are you here to check up on all the progress we've made?"

Hearing Inari, Naruto immediately drops his petty argument with Tazuna to reply, "Yeah! That's exactly why I came by, but also just to see how you guys are doing."

Inari responds cheerfully, "We're doing great! This project is coming together very smoothly. It's one of the easiest jobs I've had, and the most rewarding."

Tazuna adds, "Well, except for that shitty shrine of yours. The termite damage alone was a massive pain in the ass. And don't even get me started on all the rotten support beams and the crappy foundation!"

Naruto chooses to ignore Tazuna in favor of asking Inari, "How far along are you in finishing my new place?", getting Tazuna to grumble to himself about ungrateful brats.

Inari explains, "Well, we've got all the pluming finished and the ventilation installed, but electrical is taking a bit longer than we initially hoped. Without any nearby power polls we've had to wait on the local electric company to install one. They've only just finished attaching the power lines to the new transformer this morning."

Naruto asks in confusion, "Then does that mean you haven't even started on installing the wiring yet?"

Tazuna answers, a little perturbed at being ignored, "No! We've installed about half of it! The problem is that we can't check to see if the lines are solid and up to code until we can get some power running through them! So we've had to holt our progress, unless you don't mind your new home bursting into flames!"

Naruto quickly waves his hands frantically while replying, "No no no no, I'd prefer a home that's not on fire! Please!"

Tazuna responds, "Then don't bitch about how long it'll take! It's actually going must faster than most projects of this nature. Your shinobi friend didn't just build the base structure, he also tunneled out all the pathways we needed for attaching sewage lines and water mains to your home. Which gives this place both running water and proper waste removal."

Naruto bashfully replies, "Oh! Captain Yamato really has been giving you guys a hand lately. I should really thank him sometime. I'm sorry for sounding impatient, I'm just actually curious about what's going on. I've never owned a house before, let alone a compound."

Now Tazuna feels bashful, but gets rescued by Inari saying, "That's ok Naruto. Gramps is just cranky because of the hard time we've been having with this shrine. We've been trying to preserve as much of it as possible, but keep on running into issues that force us into removing more than we wanted to. So, thanks to that, our time frame keeps getting pushed back, but everything should be finished within the next two weeks. Unless we come across another unexpected issue."

Naruto responds, "That's ok you guys. I know that you'll do good by me, I trust you Inari, and even the drunkard!"

Tazuna fires back, "What'd you call me you little Gaki!"

That gets Tazuna and Naruto go back to there staring contest as Inari laughs before heading back to work.

Back with Hinata and Sakura, they've just entered Naruto's apartment, Hinata naturally has a key to his place. Though, most wouldn't recognize the small sealing formula on her key and inside the locking mechanism. It's coded to Naruto, Fuu, and Hinata's chakra signature so that only they can use the key while channeling chakra into it to unlock the door. If someone were to pick the lock, or have stolen one of their keys, the door would consume the individual in a fiery explosion. Can't be too safe with two jinchuuriki living there.

Hinata then proceeds to activate the privacy barrier Naruto created, loosely based off the one he's seen in Tsunade's office. It's also keyed to their chakra signatures, but also acts as a fairly strong defensive barrier. Naruto made it strong enough to block one of his Rasenshurikens, but, then again, it'd probably just absorb the jutsu due to the formula Naruto weaved into it's design. Ever since Fuu started living with him, Naruto has taken great lengths in securing his home and their safety.

Sakura, who was explained all that by Hinata, comments, "Wow! I didn't know Naruto was so prepared. He's always just winged things before."

Hinata smiles as she replies, "Yeah, Naruto has really changed lately, but still maintains that unpredictable nature of his that captivates people. I don't expect you to have noticed his recent maturity. Sakura-san.", her smile fading at that last part as her tone becomes more snide.

Sakura lets out a sigh before responding, "Alright Hinata. Lets get this over with."

Hinata plays dumb as she asks, "Get what over with?"

Sakura answers, "How you feel about me dating Naruto, that's what. I know that you're not pleased by this current turn of events. So let me have it. Get it all off your chest now, so that we can move on with helping Naruto and your clan."

Hinata doesn't want to get chummy with Sakura right now, but when she heard Sakura say she's dating Naruto, the hidden anger rose up in her.

Hinata lets it all go, "Why should YOU of all people be dating Naruto-kun?! All you've ever done is ignore him, and even bully him for trying to show you affection! Everyday for years I'd watch him do his best to cheer you up when you've been rejected by Sasuke, only for you to turn around and HIT him! Calling him all assortment of names in the process! While I was never-", stopping herself from crying with a light sob.

Sakura finishes, "While you were never even noticed by him.", a down cast appearance on her face and regret laced in her voice.

Hinata fires back up, "Yes! I wanted nothing more than to love him, but he only had eyes for you! So many years I'd cry my eyes out at not being as pretty as you, or smart as you, or-", once again she stops to sob.

Sakura replies, "You're wrong Hinata."

Hinata's eye practically burn with scorn as she yells back, "No I'm not! Naruto has always-"

Sakura cuts her off by yelling, "It's not about NARUTO! Sure! I've always ignored him over Sasuke back then, and I'll have to live with how I treated him. But you and I both know that he would forgive me without even thanking about it, just like he already has for you!"

Hinata is taken back before stuttering out, "H-how d-do you about t-that?"

Sakura answers calmly, "Because a woman only gets that angry at herself. I know this because I feel that same self-loathing for being that mean to him. So, it's not hard to piece together that you've been blaming yourself for not going to him with your feelings back then."

Hinata's head faces the floor as she responds, "I-I was just so scared of being rejected by him that I'd freeze up every time I even thought about telling him how I felt. If I had just been strong like him and told him how I felt, he wouldn't have had to suffer alone for as long as he did. Even now, as I'm with him, I can't help but feel sick with myself. He's forgiven me for my weakness, but somewhere inside myself, I still hate myself for being that weak! I don't think that I deserve him, and having you finally accept his feelings for you, reminds me of that even more!"

As Hinata is openly crying, Sakura comforts her by rubbing her back and replying, "Again, you're wrong Hinata. More than me or Fuu, or anybody, you deserve to be with Naruto. The fact that even with his forgiveness, which he probably never even believed you needed in the first place, you're crying your eyes out for him. You love him more than anyone else in this world could ever possible hope to match."

Hinata tries to contradict her, "But I still could have-"

Only to be firmly cut off by Sakura, "That doesn't matter anymore! Don't waste your time on what could have been, and focus on what is and can be. Naruto loves you, and you're now in a relationship with him. So stop wallowing in your past mistakes and focus on loving him now with all your heart. Like I wish I could!"

Hinata is silent as she once again wants to wring her hands for missing something so obvious. She's spent so much time trying to make up for her mistakes that she risks making more by just simply loving Naruto now. She knows that the real reason why she's only been physically intimate with Naruto twice, while Fuu's been at it almost non stop, is that deep down she still feels like she doesn't deserve him. Hell, they've only been on one date with each other! If she doesn't try harder to actually be with him now, than she may lose him all together.

Seeing as Hinata has stopped crying, Sakura decides to ask, "Are you feeling better now, Hinata?"

Hinata answers while wiping away the last of her tears, "Yeah. Thanks Sakura. But, what do you mean that you wish you could love Naruto like me?", her eyes hardening with a firm glare.

Sakura explains, "What I mean, is that I've caused so much damage to our relationship that it may be to late to end up in the same place as you. Even now, there is apart of me that feels the same way as you do, and I know that it's contradictory, but I don't deserve to be with Naruto. At least, not yet anyways. As long as I still have these lingering feelings for Sasuke, and until I can come to love Naruto with all my heart, I shouldn't be with him. So, for now, I just want to try and just get to spend some alone time with Naruto, so we can get better acquainted with each other in a romantic setting. Hopefully that'll help me over come my issues. I don't want to hurt him by giving him more than I really can, only to fail and leave him heartbroken."

Hinata responds, "I don't think I'll be ok with you dating Naruto anytime soon, but, I'm starting to see you in a better light now. You do seem legitimately concerned with Naruto's feels, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you be with Naruto-kun. But if you do anything to hurt him, I'll make you dread ever having been born.", her voice as cold as ice by the end.

Sakura actually gulps in fear from Hinata's menacing tone and deadly stare, getting Sakura to reply, "O-of course Hinata! I w-wouldn't dream of it! So, ah, how about we get cracking on those scrolls now? Huh?", desperately trying to change the subject.

Hinata's mood shifts back to her normal, almost cheery self, as she answers, "Sure Sakura-san. Hopefully you can help me tie down this loophole in the Hyuga contract."

Sakura sighs in relief as they then begin tearing through the scrolls with little chatter between them, except for anything resulting in progress of their task.

Having finished talking/yelling with Tazuna, Naruto now finds himself summoned to the Hokage's office for an important, secretive meeting. He was contacted by Shizune who pretended to be talking to him about her wedding plans while secretly handing him Tsunade's message to Hirashin to her office ASAP.

Naruto asks, seeing as the privacy barrier is already up, "So, what do you need from me Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade smirks at Naruto's professionalism before answering, "I need you to create a seal like the one you did for dealing with Sai's curse mark. Except, this one needs to be invisible and will activate only once someone with Danzo's curse mark walks onto it, lighting up in the process. Do you think you can make me two of those with in the next two days?"

Naruto wants to ask her what this is about, but knows that she won't for security reasons, so he simply focuses on the seal theory.

It take Naruto about a minute of thinking before answering, "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I can have them ready for you by tomorrow afternoon, with those specs. I'll have to get right to work and blow any chance I have at training or going on a date, but I can safely assume that this is important, so, no problem."

Tsunade lets out a breath of relief and responds, "Good. You have no idea how important it is that you can make them in so short of time. I was afraid I might have bitten off more than I could chew. You can go now.", knowing that if Naruto couldn't deliver on something she already promised two clan heads, she'd been deep trouble.

Naruto looks at her rather confused, but decides that as long as he can help her, then it doesn't really matter what kind of trouble she's talking about. So he just nods and Hiraishin's away to his apartment to get started on those seals Tsunade needs.

It has been hours since Hinata and Sakura started plowing through the Uzumaki archive scrolls when Naruto Hiraishin in. He fortunately sensed that Hinata and Sakura are there, so he made sure not to land on them. Unfortunately, he can't sense the scrolls, so he ended up landing on a scroll that caused him to slip and smack his head into the wall.

Hinata replies, with slight concern, "Naruto-kun?! Are you alright?"

Sakura chuckles lightly to herself, thinking that only Naruto could turn a jutsu as amazing as the Hiraishin into classic slaps comedy. It was like he slipped on a banana peel! Classic Naruto!

Naruto tries shaking it off like it didn't happen, "I'm fine Hinata-chan. Nothing I haven't done before. It's really no big deal, like stubbing your toe! Ha! Ha!", bashfully rubbing the bump on his head.

Wanting to spare Naruto any futher embarrassment, Hinata asks, "What are doing home so soon? I thought that you'd be treating team Asuma to their next promised meal."

Naruto's face becomes over flooded with dread as he remembers that he's suppose to feed Choji, he means Team Asuma in about, right now!

Naruto frantically yells out, "Crap! Oh Gama-chan! I'm so sorry! Damn! If I cope out now, they tie on two more meals! And I have to get started on making new seals for Baa-chan! What am I going to do?!"

Sakura loudly starts laughing at Naruto's idiocy, causing even Hinata to chuckle as Naruto falls to his knees with anime tears running down his face and his toad wallet raised in the air.

After a few minutes of this, and no longer being able laugh without it hurting, Sakura informs him, "You do know that you can just send a shadow clone with your wallet to pay for their meal, right? You don't have to eat with them, just pay for their meal."

That gets Naruto to stop crying a river, and yell out joyously, "You're a genius Sakura-chan! Thank you for saving poor Gama-chan, and more importantly, saving me from going bankrupt! Choji's stomach is a bottomless pit! I'll just barely make it through the meals I already owe them, there's no way I could handled anymore."

Sakura replies simply, "Thanks, I guess. I wouldn't really call it genius, just common sense. The only real question is why you didn't think of it. Seeing as the shadow clone jutsu is your most used technique."

Naruto quickly turns bright red for not thinking about that himself, so just creates a shadow clone jutsu to take his wallet and treat Team Asuma to a meal.

Sakura and Hinata are giggling to each other over Naruto's antics while Naruto is trying to shrink away unnoticed, his face beat red from embarrassment. But he stops when he notices the scroll with the Hyuga clan mark on it laying open next to several sheets of paper on his dinning room table.

Voicing his thoughts, Naruto asks, "Have you found something interesting concerning the Hyuga contract?"

That gets Hinata and Sakura to stop giggling and turn serious as Hinata answers, "Yes. We have found a loophole in the contract that'll allow you to remove the Bird Caged Curse Seal from practice in my clan."

That gets Naruto's immediate attention, getting him to create another shadow clone to get started on the seals Tsunade wants, so he can focus on this.

Seeing Naruto sit in between them at the table with a serious look on his face, Sakura continues, "Actually, Hinata was the one to initially find the loophole. I just helped with the logistics of enacting your rights as the Uzumaki clan head."

Hinata replies, "You did a lot more than that Sakura. It's thanks to your brilliant deduction of all these archived payments, and the fine print details of the contract, that we can force my clan to comply with Naruto's order."

Getting more confused by the second, Naruto asks, "Um? What are you guys talking about?"

Sakura explains, "Well, in short, Hinata found that one of the conditions of the contract was that the Huyga clan were to pay the Uzumaki clan once every year for the continued use of the seal they made."

Hinata takes over, "The reason for that being, the seal was only meant to be on the group that tried to overthrow the Hyuga clan leaders. Like a prison brand to keep inmates in line without having to kill them. You see, a long time ago, my clan had split into two separate factions, each side following the siblings that fought for the right to lead our clan."

Naruto interrupts, "Oh yeah. I remember you telling me something about this and how it concerned the branding practices of your clan."

Hinata responds, "Exactly Naruto-kun. See there was actually a very bloody civil war between my clan that nearly wiped us out because of that. So, our numbers became too small to just kill the losing side, so we turned to the Uzumaki clan to create a seal that's allowed us to keep them in line. That way they could still have children that would be welcome back into the clan."

Naruto asks, "Then why is the seal still used now?"

Hinata shamefully answers, "Because the winners, or what is now called the main household, decided that it was best to keep a lower branch family that would always be obedient to them. So they started branding the rebellious sides children as well."

Naruto was gripping his fist in rage at the thought of people willingly turn children into slaves.

Sakura decides to continues as Hinata is feeling rather sick at her clans action as well, "By doing that, the Hyuga clan was in breach of their contract with the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumaki threatened war against the Hyuga if they didn't stop using their seal against their wishes, it was only supposed to be used on one generation of people. Not wanting war while still in a weakened state, the Hyuga made a compromise."

Naruto asks, "What compromise?"

Hinata answers, "That they'd pay ten million per year for as long as they used the seal, with the added adjustment that upon death the seal would destroy the Byakugan. So a new seal and contract was made up to cement our clan's deal."

Naruto replies, "Alright. That was very interesting, and not to mention terrible, but, how does this help me remove the seal from Neji and the branch family?"

Hinata answers, "I was getting to that part Naruto-kun. You see, in the fine print of the contract there is a clause that's to be taken into effect upon the Uzumaki clan's possible demise. This well crafted clause states that if the Uzumaki clan were to be destroyed, the Hyuga were to continue making the payments to any and all survivors they could find, within reason of course."

Sakura takes over, "That's what Hinata found before I bumped into her. Where she proceeded to ask for my help in digging through the immaculate keep records of both the Hyuga and Uzumaki clans. After pouring over hundreds of records, over several hours, that we were able to compile all the payments made to the Uzumaki clan by the Hyuga clan, as per the contract. It wasn't until the destruction of the Uzumaki clan that they missed a payment, or more accurately, they ceased paying."

Hinata takes back over, "Going over my clan's financial records support this fact. Even if they were unable to find an Uzumaki clan survivor, they should have put the money aside for the eventuality, but they didn't. In fact, the contract between our two clans have been destroyed, along with any copies that may have existed. In other words, the Hyuga clan, my clan, tried to erase the fact that they had an obligation to help the survivors of the Uzumaki clan, at least financially."

Naruto isn't happy about the Hyuga shirking their duty to his clan, but that still doesn't seem to help him any.

Seeing Naruto's confused face, Sakura explains, "It means that the Hyuga clan owes the Uzumaki clan, your clan, thirty four years of back pay, plus penalties for breach of contract. That's well over four hundred million they currently owe your clan. Not to mention the loss of confidence they'll lose in other contractors they've made deals with. They may pull out, or at the least make sure not to renew their contracts. Plus, it'll become harder for the Hyuga to enter new contracts."

Naruto yells out in shock, "Holly SHIT! That's a lot of money! To think I was bitching about feeding Choji."

Hinata informs, "Ah. Naruto-kun. You won't be getting that money."

A confused Naruto replies, "Huh?! Why not?"

Hinata answers, "Well, even though the Hyuga clan is worth more than that, there is no way they could possibly pay the Uzumaki clan that much all at once. A lot of our wealth is invested in other businesses, real estate, and certain mining opertations that will eventually, and over time, return those investments with a profit. They are long term investments for the longevity of the clan Then if word got out about our transgressions, we could end up losing all of them. That could hurt my clan for generations."

Naruto then asks, "So what's the point of them owing me money they can't or won't pay?!", starting to get frustrated over getting nowhere.

Once again, Sakura clarifies, "The point is, if forced to pay, they can, it'll just cripple the Hyuga clan's finances of decades. So, we use that as leverage to not only get them to stop using the brand on the branch family, but to also allow you to remove the ones already on members of the branch family. Get it now! Threaten to take away their wealth and they'll yield to your request."

Naruto responds, "Oh! Now I get it! So I just have to go to Hinata's father and force him to either bankrupt his clan or get ride of the sealing jutsu."

Sakura yells out, "NO you baka! You can't just walk up to a clan leader and demand things from them. Even if you are a clan leader yourself!"

Hinata explains while Naruto's face twists into pure confusion, "You, as in the official Uzumaki clan leader must bring the issue up with the Hokage, who will then convene a clan meeting to discuss the dispute between the two clans. Once both sides argue their case with the Hokage overseeing the proceedings, the clan heads will then vote on the issue to decide who is right."

Naruto replies, "So I have to get all the other clan leaders to vote in favor of my clan over the Hyuga clan?"

Sakura answers, "No. Just the majority of them, and in the event of a split decision , the Hokage gives the deciding vote. Which is why we went to the pain staking trouble of sorting through all these scrolls and the historical archives of both clans. They will be both your proof and argument to the Clan Council."

Hinata further explains, "You'll take the selected information that we've laid out for you to the Hokage with your complaint against the Hyuga clan. She'll read through them, and if she finds them credible, she'll present them as evidence to the Clan Council. Then, when you're at the meeting and Lady Tsunade calls you to present your grievances to the council, then will you tell them everything. While they are reading through the materials you gave the Hokage earlier. My father will then be allowed to refute your claims and pled his case on behalf of the Hyuga clan."

Naruto can already feel the massive migraine forming as steam starts to pour from his skull. All this complex clan stuff is pushing his brain past it's limits.

Naruto asks in pure desperation, "Can't one of you do this in my stead? I'm not really cut out for this type of stuff. I'm better at kicking ass and fighting the Akatsuki than arguing in court house!"

Sakura replies, "Firstly, it's not a court house, it's a closed door meeting reserved for Konoha clan leaders. Secondly, I'm afraid we can't stand in for you. Proxy have to be fully realized members of your clan, and typically only under strict circumstances, like illness or death."

Naruto groans, "Oh man! This sucks! I have some much on my plate as it is, and now I have to prepare for some really complex and boring clan meeting."

Hinata comforts Naruto by saying, "Relax Naruto-kun. I know you can do this. You're stronger than you know. Helping Neji and the branch family matters to you, so you'll succeed. I know it! Besides, you don't have to do this right away. It can wait until things are dialed down and you feel confident enough to argue the point."

Naruto takes a breather and replies, "Thanks Hinata-chan. Once I get this whole thing memorized, and I'm not being spread all over the place, I'll nail it! Ya Know!"

Sakura smirks a bit before responding, "Alright then. Once you're ready, Hinata and I can start prepping you to take your case to Lady Tsunade. Until then, I suggest that you keep these scrolls safe, for the Hyuga clan destroyed all the copies of that contract, except for the one you have. If you lose it, or Kami forbid, the Hyuga clan's main household finds out about it's existence and destroys it, then this will all have been for nothing. Without that contract, that has both the clan's official seals on it, then you don't have a case and the Hyuga will keep on branding the branch family forever."

Naruto nods his head as he begins sealing up all the evidence they have into a larger storage scroll. Once that's done he then puts it in a protective chest with sealing tags and a powerful barrier, so that only he can access it.

While Naruto was talking with Hinata and Sakura, his clone was currently eating with Team Asuma, with the exception of Asuma himself. He's apparently spending his time off with Kurenai, and preparing for the arrival of his first born child. There's a lot that goes into preparing your home for the birth of a child, and not to mention all the education you should pick up on how to feed, bathe, change, burb, and the overall care in raising a child.

Fuu was also with Naruto's clone and Team Asuma, having run into him after changing clothes at their apartment. Ino was also not there at first, but arrived shortly after Choji had starting Bar-B-Qing the meat. She was being unusually quiet for her, and seemed lost in thought with bouts of anger and pain running across her face.

Seeing Ino's distress, Fuu asks, "What's wrong Ino?"

Ino is snapped out of her depressing thoughts to see everyone at their table looking at her with concern. Shikimaru had immediately picked up on Ino's strange behavior, but was waiting for either Ino to come out and say what was wrong, or confront her about it in private. While Choji took a little longer to notice, having been so focused on the cooking meat, but he eventually took notice of her odd behavior. Naruto's clone, on the other hand, was too busy counting the surmountable loss of his money to notice Ino at all.

Ino replies shakily, "W-what do you m-mean? I'm fine! Naruto's the one in trouble, considering that Choji's on his third helping already!", trying to fake her normal behavior.

Naruto's clone groans, "Come on Choji! Give poor Gama-chan a break here!"

Shikimaru ignores Naruto to respond, "Don't avoid the question Ino. We've known you long enough to know when's something's up with you."

Seeing the determined and concerned stares of her teammates and Fuu, Ino yields. She tells them how her own father disinherited her and placed Yamanaka Fu as the next clan head. Going into how it was all because of her obsession for Sasuke, and how that'd make her unable to take over the Yamanaka clan. She can't marry into the Uchiha clan and stay a member of her clan, so Inoichi took the liberty of replacing her with the next suitable candidate. The ceremony for Fu's coronation as clan heir will be in two days, while she's away on a mission for Sasuke. Which only furthered the point that her priorities were more in favor of Sasuke's than her own clan.

Ino was in a state of mixed fury and misery. She had repeatedly tried explaining that she was no longer interested in being with Sasuke, but her father wouldn't hear of it. It was so far off from his usual self, that she almost didn't believe that it was her father saying those things.

Fuu was the first to speak up, "I'm so sorry Ino. Isn't their something you can do to repeal your fathers decision?"

Ino shakes her head as she explains, "No. I already tried to talk father out of it, but he wouldn't budge. Then with the vast majority of my clansmen agreeing with his decision, I have no leg to stand on when petitioning the verdict of my clan leader. To be honest, that was the worst part. Besides my mother, no one argued that I'd be the better choice to lead our clan. I must seem like a joke to them, my own family!"

Choji replies, "That's not true Ino! You're an amazing kunoichi and would make an even better clan leader! You're compassionate and kind to your comrades, and fierce against your enemies. Not to mention smart and strong. Your clan jutsu timing is amazing and-"

Ino cuts Choji off by correcting him, "Nowhere as proficient and varied as Fu. His timing in using our clan's jutsu is faster and has mastered many of our clan's techniques that I haven't even tried learning yet. I hate to admit it, but he is the better shinobi between us."

Fuu replies, "Yeah, but he's reached his peak while you're still getting into yours! You'll surpass him in a few years, so don't talk like you're usless when compared to him!"

Shikimaru is quietly thinking about how this doesn't make any sense. Like Fuu said, Ino still has room to improve, and it's extremely rare for a clan leader to pass over their own child to succeed them. Sure, Ino's long standing desire to be with Sasuke, the future clan leader of the Uchiha, can be seen as a viable reason for replacing her, but she herself said she won't be with him. So, that should have settled the matter, and even if they wanted to have Fu act as a back up in case Ino decided to marry Sasuke anyways, they wouldn't need to officially strip Ino of her heiress status.

Naruto's clone is wondering if this has anything to do with the seals Tsunade wants him to make her.

Ino suddenly stands up and says, "I'm sorry but I don't feel like eating right now. I need to go."

Turning to leave, Ino is stopped by Fuu asking, "Do you want some company? I can come with you and we can talk this out together."

Ino replies, "No. I need to be alone right now.", running out of the restaurant to sort through her feelings and try to make sense of what happened.

Choji asks, "Hey, Shikimaru? What do you think about all this?"

Shikimaru answers, "I don't know, but something seems off about the whole thing."

Fuu asks, "What do mean?"

Shikimaru answers, "There are several things that don't add up to me, but then again, Ino is my friend and that could be coloring my perception. So, for now I'll just let it be and see if I'm right or not.", while thinking to himself that this might have to do with Danzo's Root and it'd be best to just play along.

Everyone is quiet for a few minutes before Fuu says, "Well, that killed my appetite. So, I'm just going to go too. Bye."

Choji and Shikimaru agree with Fuu, usually the Team's celebratory meal is cheery and fun, but this is just depressing. So they leave Naruto's clone to pay the bill, which he hoped would be cheaper than the first one, but to his great astonishment, that wasn't the case. He should have known that Choji's eating habits must make up at least ninety percent of the bill.

Then again, Sakura caused a bit of property damage during the first meal he treated Team Asuma to. Sai was working on giving people nicknames and ended up calling Ino pretty when he had call Sakura ugly earlier. That really pissed her off, and somehow he ended up paying for it, figuratively and literally! Damn! How much did Choji eat this time?!

Hours later, Ino was sitting in a field filled with flowers, it's where she learned about flower arranging during the class kuniochi took to blend in as civilians. She's thinking about how she stood up to the girls bullying Sakura, and how she and Sakura ended up becoming rivals for Sasuke's affections. She nearly lost her best friend to her dumb Sasuke obsession, and now has actually lost her clan status because of it.

Ino honestly wishes she had never fallen for him, it was just a dumb, one-sided, schoolgirl crush! How was it that it's ruining her life?! She was already beginning to move past Sasuke and focus on improving as a kuniochi and leader of her clan. Only to have that very relationship thrown in her face as an excuse to strip her of her heiress status.

Tears are streaming down her face as she pulls her knees to her chest, trying to bury her face in them. As Ino is starting to slip into despair, a sudden tapping on her shoulder brings her back to see Naruto standing behind her.

Naruto says, "Sorry for not saying anything earlier, but my clone wasn't sure how to broach the situation. Plus, I kind of have a lot on my plate, but that's no excuse for ignoring a friend who's clearly in though spot right now."

Ino goes back to hiding behind her knees as she replies, "That's ok Naruto. There's nothing anyone can do to help me now. My clan has already made their decision, and they want Fu as the next leader of the Yamanaka clan. Who could blame them?! He's older, stronger, smarter, and not obsessed with someone from another clan, like I am. He's clearly the better candidate than I am."

Naruto moves to sit to Ino's right and responds, "Well, this Fu guy must be something if you're praising him like that. So, I guess you are right that he's better than you to take over as the clan heir."

That brings a shot of pain to Ino's chest. To hear one of her friends actually agree with her families opinion of her, that she's not good enough to lead her clan, is soul crushing.

Naruto than continues, "But, that's only for now. I mean, it's just like Fuu said, you'll surpass him in time. I know It! So, stop acting like someone else, and get back to being the Ino I know. The beautiful young woman than has never let anything or anyone stop her from chasing her dreams. Don't let this one set back change the strong woman that you are. Even though you can be really annoying at times."

The annoying remark gets Ino to give Naruto the stink eye while yelling back, "What do you mean ANNOYING?! I'm charming damn it! At least you got the beautiful, strong, and smart part right you BAKA!"

Naruto is laughing while placing his hands up to stop Ino from killing him, and once his laughter dies down, he replies, "It's good to see you back to normal Ino. I knew if I provoked you, you'd snap right back. You never were one for pity parties."

Ino stops glaring death at Naruto to respond with a shocked tone, "You did that on purpose? Just to make me feel better."

Naruto nods his head as he explains, "Yup! I know how it feels to fail and be seen as a failure. So, I know that the best thing for you to do is to throw yourself back into it, with renewed energy and motivation."

Ino simply replies, "Huh?!"

Naruto continues, "You've always been pushing yourself for others, or in the need to compete with someone and prove you're better. Like trying to impress Sasuke, beat out Sakura, or protect your friends. The problem with being a clan heir, is that you've always known that you were going to succeed your father, so you never really pushed yourself in that endeavor. Right?"

Ino takes a moment to think about it. She's never really tired all that hard at preparing to succeed her dad. She just assumed that she'd be handed the position just because she was the only child of the current clan leader. Yet, with being a shinobi and medic, she had competition in both her professional life and personal. Does she need someone there to push her for her to excel?

Seeing the revelation appear on Ino's face Naruto says, "It's not a bad thing to want and even need competition to reach your goals and dreams, but you shouldn't expect it to always be there. So, get up off your butt and get ready to fight for what you want! Like I said, it's not like you to just give up. Hell! I failed the graduation exam three time before becoming a shinobi! Now look at me! I'm rebuilding my shinobi clan, kicking Akatsuki ass, and I'm still reaching to be Hokage someday!"

Ino looks at Naruto's grinning face and can't help but smile too.

Naruto continues, "So what if your clan choose this Fu chump to replace you! You can always change their minds by proving yourself to be his better. Train your ass off to become stronger than him. Study harder to prove you got the knowledge necessary to lead your clan! And when ever someone brings up your PAST obsession with Sasuke, just show them that you've moved on and that who you love doesn't impede your ability to lead the Yamanaka clan! You are Yamanaka Ino! The next clan head of the Yamanaka! Leaving no doubt in their minds as to why!"

Ino stands up, feeling a fire burning in her chest, and replies, "You're right Naruto! I'm Yamanaka Ino and no can stand up to my passion and beauty! I'll become a better shinobi than Fu and then win over every last member of my clan!"

Naruto mutters under his breath, "I didn't say anything about your beauty helping you Ino."

Ino continues, "I'm done feeling sorry for myself. It's time I kick all sorts of ass and forcefully take back my birth right! Thanks for reminding me of who I really am Naruto. Time I go find my lazy teammates and sensei. It's high time I kicked our training up to another gear!"

Naruto comments, "That's great and all Ino, but I don't think you should be over doing it yet. We have to keep ourselves fresh for the up coming mission in attacking key Oto hideouts. Remember?"

Ino replies, "Oh! Right. I almost forgot. I guess it can wait for a little bit, but after finishing our attacks on the Oto bases, I'm cracking down on my team! I'm getting stronger no matter how much they complain.", while also thinking about how it's high time for her father to teach her the more advanced clan jutsus.

Naruto then asks,, "Well with that figured out, how about you help me out a problem I'm having? If you don't mind that is."

Ino sits back down eagerly to hear the gossip, replying, "Sure! What's the issue you got? Having trouble performing in the bedroom? Can't please Fuu now that she's been with me?!"

Naruto quickly, if a little heated, "NO! I'm fine in that area, and Fuu doesn't seem displeased from our love sessions. The only difference is that I don't have to have sex with her quite as often as before. The problem is you."

Ino is put off, responding heatedly herself, "What?! What's wrong with ME?!"

Naruto placates, "Nothing! It's just that. Well, you see. Um. Fuu hasn't let off on the whole us having a threesome thing and-"

Ino interrupts with a coy smile and a sexual tone, "Oh. So you just can't wait to sample what Fuu's been tasting, huh? I can't blame you. I'm just to sexy for my own good."

Naruto is sporting a blush, but pushes through, "No, that's not it. Even if that really is a tempting offer. It's just that we can't have that happening if you want to reclaim your heiress status."

Ino replies in confusion, "Huh? Why's that?"

Naruto explains, "Uh, because wouldn't your clan see that as a problem. I'm using the CRA just like Sasuke will, so they'll just say you're moving from Uchiha to Uzumaki."

Ino is hit by that revelation. Naruto's right. Being in a relationship with Naruto and Fuu, even just for the sex, could be used against her in her attempt to reclaim her birthright.

Naruto continues, "So, we need to talk this out before Fuu gets hurt. I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but Fuu is really falling for you. That's probably why she's pushing so hard for us to have the threesome. She wants you to join our family, which I have no problem with, but you do."

Ino's mood drops as she responds, "Yeah, I guess I do. I've been too focused on my personal life and ended up losing more than I thought I could. I know now for sure that I want to become the next leader of my clan, so I can't just selfishly do what I want anymore. Being a clan head means making personal sacrifices for the greater good of the clan, so, even though I really like Fuu, I'm going to have to break it off with her."

Naruto frowns as he replies, "I figured as much. The problem is how to do it so that she doesn't get hurt. Fuu's not completely use to having people in her life yet, so it'll be harder on her when you dump her."

Ino responds, "I know. I will try to break it to her gently and be as honest as I can about why. Hopefully she'll understand, but I know it will still hurt her. I honestly never thought I'd have to break up with a girl."

Naruto asks, "When should we do it? Or should it just be you that does it?"

"When should you do what?", Fuu asks, scaring the crap out of them.

Fuu's standing behind them with a confused look on her face.

Naruto/Ino yell out, "When did you get here?!"

Fuu answers, "Just now. It's getting late. See, the sun's starting to go down. I wanted to see if Naruto-kun wanted to go out to eat tonight. Maybe make it into a date night. You're welcome to join us Ino-chan. Unless you're still feeling down about losing your heiress status and want to be alone."

Ino responds, "Oh. No. I'm feeling much better now, thanks to Naruto."

Fuu replies, "That's great! I'm glad to see you two getting along.", a coy smile on her face.

Naruto sighs out, "Not in that way Fuu."

Ino elaborates by explaining everything about how she can't be with her and become clan head of the Yamanaka.

Ino finishes, "And that's why we have to break up Fuu. I'm sorry."

Fuu is quiet for a few minutes, processing what she's just been told, and responds a little despondently, "I-I see. Well, I already figured that this relationship wasn't going to last anyways, so it's ok."

That gets Naruto to ask, "Wait. What do you mean by that?"

Fuu explains, "I've always felt a lot passion and lust from Ino when we're together, but not much love. So I figured that what we had was just a physical relationship. You know. To blow off steam and just have fun exploring each others bodies. It was fun while it lasted. I just wish we could have had that threesome before it ended.", sighing with regret at the end.

Naruto responds, "What?! I thought you only wanted to have one with someone we both loved!"

Fuu replies, "Yeah, I still do, but I'm tired of waiting! I know that Hinata said maybe when she's more comfortable with her sexuality, but I also know that's a lie. She only has love for you Naruto, at least physically anyways. She likes me and is willing to share you, but she has no attraction to the opposite sex. That's something you can't control. Either you are or you aren't. Hinata just isn't, I'm not so sure about this Guren lady that's on the fence in joining our family, and Sakura is a ways off from just being with you. So, I was hoping to get Ino to, seeing as she's clearly interested in women and you. Plus, you know her and like her, so it all seemed to work. Bummer."

Ino replies, "Hmm. I don't see why we can't have break up sex with Naruto. Your dream threesome as a way to leave on good terms. After all, it's not like I can't have one last fling before moving on."

As Fuu is practically salivating as Naruto it is once again thrown for a loop, getting him to respond, "WHAT?! Wait a minute! What are you talking about?"

At that very moment, in an undisclosed location, Jiraiya yells out, "Naruto you BAKA!", not exactly sure why he suddenly felt the urge to do that.

Back with Naruto, who's having a hard time understanding how is life is turning out like one of Pervy Sage's novels, is being dragged by Fuu to their apartment with Ino following. Even though Naruto never figures out how these things keep happening to him, he does spend the next six hours fucking both Fuu and Ino. Thus, he tends to forget why he even argued about it in the first place, deciding to just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Thinks to the long, yet exceptional night that went clear into the late morning, Naruto ends up spending the entire second day working on the seals Tsunade asked for. Which only took so long because Tsunade sent him a secure message ordering him to alter the Sleeper jutsu Sasori used on his subordinates, so that they can be used to just lock away a few select memories. She didn't explain why, but at this point, Naruto's not even going to bother asking.

Having barely finished the seals Tsunade needed in time, Naruto is moving out with Team Asuma to hit the Oto hideout with his clan member, Uzumaki Karin, in it. While he hits that one, Team Kurenai, with Kakashi still filling in for Kurenai, will travel with Sasuke to acquire Suigetsu. At that same time, Team Kakashi, minus Naruto and with Yamato taking over as captain, will secure the Northern Oto base holding Jugo. They'll wait at a safe distance while watching the facility until both Naruto and Karin, and Sasuke and Suigetsu meet up with them. Teams Asuma and Kurenai will stay behind at their respective bases to thoroughly search and acquire all intelligence they hold.

With all that happening while Danzo executes the assaults on the remaining Oto bases, Tsunade will be making her move on Danzo's two most trusted Root members. Hopefully, they'll give her everything she needs and more to strike down Danzo. All in all, things are going to start getting chaotic very soon.


End file.
